Of a Beginning and End
by KAISRE
Summary: Jaden, Zane, Alexis, Aster, Atticus, and Chazz are entrusted with the six Data Keys created by Seto Kaiba himself. Little do they know, their enemies are not like the ones from the past. This time, Fate is not written in stone. OLDFIC
1. Calling

It was a rainy night at Domino City. The sky was pitch black as millions of city lights shined everywhere, and in one of those lights, an older teen sat busy at his desk, filling out paperwork.

Zane Truesdale, Mr. Perfect, Kaiser, whatever you want to call him rested his white-sleeved elbows against the dark hardwood desk. His black fountain pen continuously signed his narrow signature.

Zane sighed impatiently and checked the time; 11:49 p.m. "Isn't this for secretaries and managers?" He asked to no one. It was silent except for the heavy pattering against the tinted glass windows. Most of Domino's lights were in his view if he turned around. Yeah, it was like one of those fancy offices CEOs of large companies have. Maybe the 19-going-on-20 year old teen didn't have it quite as fancy, but it was reliable he guessed. After all, it was just for his home.

Finally the silence was broken from a sudden ringing from his cream-colored phone. He picked it up and fit it between his ear and shoulder while shifting and continuing to sign papers.

"Zane Truesdale, how may I help you?" He said for probably the 50th time that day. Between moments he said,

"Yeah I'm alone,"

"Yes, I wish to know…"

"Why?"

"…So Mr. Seto Kaiba says this meeting is urgent, do you accept?" The female voice on the other line concluded.

Zane quickly lifted his pen before he could make a skid mark from shock and surprise. "Excuse me?" he said, trying to hide his curiosity and bewilderness.

He listened again, except closer this time. "How do I know this isn't some kind of prank?" Zane interjected when the voice finally finished.

"It isn't," the voice said in a matter-of-factly tone, "Mr. Kaiba is too busy to speak with you despite the great importance, it's your choice Mr. Truesdale. Mr. Kaiba has chosen his six duelists including you to participate in protecting the Data Keys. It's your choice whether to turn down this challenge. Further discussion in this matter will be tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. Tell no one of this."

With that, the caller hung up. A buzz cut the line as Zane just held the phone in his hand, staring at nothing. His vision unfocused as he thought deeply, _what's the matter? I've been in situations like this plenty of times. How do I know this is real? Data Keys? What about them? She didn't give me enough information… _He set down the phone and pushed aside his papers. He sat up suddenly and closed his blinds briskly. He switched off his lights. In the dark, there was a soft thump and a tired and stressful sigh.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A blonde with gray-gold eyes staring brightly at the ceiling was deep in thought. Alexis Rhode's thumb was pressed against her lower lip. "So Data Keys, Hm?" She said aloud. _More crisis stuff, eh? From Seto Kaiba to boot too! This is too sudden to be true… but still, all of have learned to be on our guard and nothing's certain in this world. _Five_ other duelists… I think I know who. Tell no one…Secrets, secret, secrets! _

A door down, Atticus Rhodes paced around his room, strumming his acoustic version of a guitar. His electric (yet nightmarish) guitar sat innocently in the corner. Posters of pop stars and models littered his walls. It was a room of a typical teenager and wannabe pop star.

"Atticus Rhodes, famous rock star. Almost twenty, shares a house with his sis, brown haired- and brown eyed Mr. Handsome is one of the six duelists to save the Data Keys, whatever they are!" He commentated while flashing poses in front of his mirror. He set his guitar down and wiped the cheesy, optimistic look from his face. A dark and more serious look appeared as Atticus thought about the situation. "Man, it's almost twelve and I _really_ don't fancy thinking about the Key stuff from mister Rich Boy. Time to hit the hay!" With that he switched off his lights and jumped on his bed without changing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jaden Yuki laid back in his red office chair, his socked feet crossed on his desk. A strawberry Pocky stick stuck out of his mouth. He sucked on the end while thinking about what the voice had said. "More saving the world stuff, eh?" He said. He finally crunched on the biscuit before grabbing another.

His mouth broke into a casual grin, typical of someone like Jaden. "Hah! Who am I kidding! It's from Seto Kaiba, this'll be a piece of cake. Yeah sure I had to save the world about a dozen times, but who knows! This is way different! Secret missions with Mr. Kaiba and five other top-ranked duelists! Man, I can't freaking wait!" He kind of pushed himself against the desk too hard, resulting in crashing to the floor.

His room door burst open as Jaden's secretary (yes he has a secretary) looked at him alert. "Mr. Yuki, are you alright!?" she asked like a worried mother.

Jaden helped himself up and grinned while flashing a peace sign, much like he did at he DA Examination building. "Yeah I'm fine!" He sat himself back on the seat. His secretary closed the door and returned to her position at her office.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chazz Princeton laid face-down on his luxurious bed. He breathed deeply, heating the covers. _Blah blah blah, save this, save that. Honestly! This is like the… fourth time!? Oh my god, if Seto Kaiba wants me, fine, I'll go. But really! Yeah, yeah Data keys, whatever. Can't a 18 year old guy get a break? Who are these five other people anyways? Jaden…? Great. Zane definitely… Lexi? That'd be nice._

And so then Chazz was drowned in his own fantasizings and thoughts, squishing a pillow over his spiked head,

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Alright I got it!" A silver-haired teen sat cross-legged on an expensive looking sofa shouted impatiently. He flipped open his cell phone. "Hello?" Aster Phoenix said, trying to hide his bad mood.

Five minutes later he dropped the phone from his hand. His blue eyes wide. "Trick or not, I'll be there tomorrow. Hell yeah, I'm ready for this!" He kicked backing a lax position, his eyes closed. A casual sigh escaped his lips as he pulled the security remote from his suit pocket and turned off his lamps.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was early the next morning, the cool sky dyed a brilliant pink. Zane stood on his porch, observing the sunset with his arms crossed. The air was fresh and smelt of rain from last night's storm. A cold breeze blew no and then, lifting and rippling his blazer's tails while doing the same to his parted bangs.

Zane's teal eyes were half lidded, light reflecting through its depths. "It's over two hours from now…" He said quietly, contemplating his thoughts.

And for sometime, he stood there. The digital numbers changed completely: 8:00

_It starts now_

-X-

No nothing much happens in this chapter, some blabberish about the "chosen" ones. Reviews appreciated, my damn alerts aren't working, I probably missed like several updates and reviews.

-Kaisre


	2. They're Nameless

Here's Debut of a very unimportant OC! You'll find her name and occupation later in the chapter, this is jus the basics.

Age: 27

Hair: Mostly has her hair up, mid-back length when let down. Mild brown.

Eyes: Hazel

Height: 5'5

Enjoy!

-X-

"Leeeexiiiii!" Atticus hollered, holding open the front passenger door open of his bright red sports car. "Are you ready yet?"

Alexis quickly stepped down from the porch in a dark khaki skort and pale violet petit tee. An exasperated look crossed her face as she stepped towards the car. "I don't see why you have to drive me, Atti. I'm not going to crash your so precious car." As if teasing him, she mockingly kicked the tire.

Atticus shrugged. "Women don't drive so well, but that's not my point!" He quickly added as he noticed a vein pop in his sister's temple. She started to turn her head the other direction in a sort of defiant way. Alexis stopped as she saw a serious look cross Atticus' face. "I know what happened last night, no need to hide it from me," he said.

Alexis resisted the impulse to jump back, instead she asked, "Have you been eavesdropping?" An accusing frown formed on her face. "No," Atticus replied. "I was called too. And based on your info to go to Kaiba Corp. I think I know what happened." He shrugged again. "We'll learn more about this stuff when we get there. Now just get in the car, Lexi." Alexis didn't say a word but lowered herself into the tan leather interior.

_Atticus is part of this… Who else?_

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jaden stepped onto the white cement curb. A metallic statue of Blue Eyes White Dragon showed it's sharp fangs and brilliant wings.

"Hm, I wonder what time it is?" Jaden said quietly, glancing at his watch. "It's 8:20, I guess I'm a tad early…" He took a step closer towards the glass doors.

"Jaden?" said a familiar voice behind him. Jaden whirled around to come face-to-face with Chazz Princeton who raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" the black-clad teen said.

"Um… I have a meeting I guess…" Jaden replied. He looked at Chazz up and down, as if studying him. "So… what are _you_ doing here?" Chazz kind of puckered his lips in annoyance as he switched his gaze to his side instead, refusing to stare directly at

Jaden.

"I'm just here… just because! Now why are we just standing out here, we're- I mean I'm supposed to go in!" He said a little harsher than he meant.

Jaden turned around again. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…" He muttered. The two of them started walking, some tension clinging to the air. The transparent doors slid open smoothly for them. The quickened their pace challengingly, Jaden beat Chazz to the reception desk.

"Hi, I'm Jaden Yuki and I'm here for the-" he started but predictably, Chazz shoved Jaden's face out of the way with his palm. As the two struggled, Chazz managed to say with some difficulty, "I'm Chazz Princeton and I'm here for the-" Jaden retaliated by pushing Chazz's face back. "Meeting with Seto Kaiba!" Jaden quickly finished before Chazz could cut in.

The two stopped fighting and stood there, side by side panting slightly. The receptionist blinked. It was a few seconds before she typed in the two names given to her.

"Jaden Yuki… Chazz Princeton… Hrm… urgent meeting. Classified Information. 8:30 a.m. Yes?" She looked up, past Jaden and Chazz. "Hello and welcome to Kaiba Corporation, Home of the top duel monsters technology." She said in voice of a professional advertiser some would pay millions for.

The two instinctively turned around and there they saw them. Alexis was standing side-by-side next to Atticus with her arms crossed, an expecting look in her eyes. Atticus flashed a grin. Even Aster was right behind them, in his usual gray suit, a blank expression on his face.

They both quickly gave their names.

"Atticus Rhodes, here for a requested meeting from Seto Kaiba."

"Alexis Rhodes, same reasons."

Aster sighed, as if exasperated for some reason. "Aster Phoenix, I'm here for the same meeting."

The receptionist typed in the names. "Atticus and Alexis Rhodes approved. Aster Phoenix, approved. Okay, all of you take the last elevator. A guide is waiting there, he'll take you to the 21st floor then to Conference room 401."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The attendant made a bow before disappearing behind the elevator door. Aster looked ahead. "Room 401, 401," he repeated, walking forward. Chazz grunted, assuming that the younger teen was leading them, or acting superior. But that was just Chazz's thoughts. He still followed.

While they were walking, checking the room labels Jaden decided to speak up (like he always does) "Sooo…. It's kinda cool how we're all here! You know, about you-know-what…"

Aster grunted.

Chazz said, "You're weird… you know that?"

"Hm?" Jaden asked pointing at himself. "Me?"

"Yeah you!" he snapped, apparently in a terrible mood.

Alexis frowned and kicked Chazz in the side, resulting in having his face smacking into the shiny tile floor. **(-dodges flying objects-) **"I don't know what's bothering you but that was kind of mean, Chazz." Alexis said, lowering her foot and crossing her arms.

"Woah sis!" Atticus said, waving his hands as Chazz got up. "I think that's a little harsh too, don't you think?" Chazz gave Jaden a nasty glare who wasn't paying any attention to anything apart from Aster.

"That's weird…" Aster muttered when the rest caught up to him. "They're just going to let us in like that?"

"I don't see what the problem is…" Jaden stated, staring at the metallic doors blankly.

"Some guide…" Atticus muttered, crossing his arms. On cue, a panel slid open right beside the door, revealing a dark green pad with crossing lines. "_Please place palm of right hand onto visible surface._" A computerized voice said. Aster followed the instructions.

"_Access accepted: Aster Phoenix." _It spoke up again. The doors slid open.

"Fancy…" Alexis said looking around as they passed through the doors.

"_Access accepted: Alexis Rhodes. Access accepted: Atticus Rhodes. Access accepted: Jaden Yuki. Access accepted: Chazz Princeton."_

"What the hell… Am I being stalked?" Chazz said under his breath.

The five found four more people in the well-lit room. It included Zane who was sitting in one of the black leather conference chairs, his arms in their usual position. He lifted his gaze up at the new-come company. A woman about in her mid-twenties stood on the right of Duel Monsters' creator, Pegasus. And finally there was the dueling legend, Seto Kaiba whose face was partially hidden behind arched fingers.

As they all took a seat, Alexis besides Zane, she gave him an _I knew it _look. He returned it. They reverted their attention to the table as six cards were laid face down on its surface. "So I've called you all here…" Kaiba started. Jaden began to tremble slightly in his seat. Everyone's utmost attention was on Kaiba.

"Hold on, Kaiba Boy… I have to get some credit, after all I _did_ make these cards." Pegasus cut in. Kaiba sighed exasperated. "Whatever, fine, _we_, called you six here." He glanced at the lady waiting silently next to Pegasus. "Okay, seven, but she has a different role. My point is that my assistants have told you of my data keys, correct?"

They all nodded. Kaiba went on.

"They're called data keys for a reason. Somewhere in the Kaiba Corp. database, is a file of highly valuable information concerning a lot of things. Predictably, an organization has formed out there or even in my company itself to steal that information from me. Passwords are too simple. They can easily be hacked. I've come up with a special system where this information can only be accessed by obtaining the six keys _and_-" he stressed the word as his gaze darted to the woman.

"a special, well not so special, practically worthless card."

She held up a completely blank card that had strange symbols written where a card's name should be.

"Her name is Shiyo Karauna. I think Truesdale knows her pretty well." Everyone's attention quickly switched to Zane who had his eyes closed. "She's my manager," He said, answering the unspoken question.

Shiyo put her hands on her hips, "That's right, everyone. Well I'm a lot of things. Zane Truesdale's manager, holder of a blank card, and other stuff."

"Anyways," Kaiba continued. "Not much info is known about this group of duelists. I warn you now, you have arrived here to fulfill my request. I want you to guard these Data Keys with your **life**."

A shiver ran through the room at Kaiba's even more serious tone and dark eyes. "You're enemies are extremely powerful. Pegasus and I have had some conflicts… We defeated them but only in battles. This war has just begun. For your aid, Pegasus-"

"Okay that's enough, Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus cut in again. "You're making everything sound like a tragic tale! It's my turn to enlighten these people." He turned to face all six of them. "Like Kaiba-boy was about to say, I've created six special cards." He gestured at the cards laying facedown on the table.

"They do have a special connection with the Data keys. With the dueling styles we've witnessed, I've specially customized these cards. Now all of you, pick one."

No one moved. "That's it?" Alexis said, staring at the table. "Wouldn't it be smarter to choose a card that would be much more compatible with out deck?"

Pegasus chuckled. "You don't have to worry the bit. Ever heard of fate?" At the word, Kaiba sighed exasperated at Pegasus' drama but said nothing. "If fate smiles on us, we'll know. This is the first test. Pick a card and tell me what you see."

They all obediently picked up a card nearest to them.

Zane's eyes widened. "It looks… like a Cyber Dragon," he said.

Alexis stifled a gasp. "This looks so similar to my other cards!"

Jaden beamed at his card. "Man, this looks so darn cool!" he said flashing his card to everyone.

The rest just stared. Chazz spoke up, "Yeah, they're cool and all but they don't have any attack points, effect, not even a name!" He was right, the areas were completely blank.

Pegasus nodded. "That's true. I myself cannot determine something like that. These cards cannot be summoned normally. First you need to know its name, but also you have to fulfill certain secret requirements to know its name. What? Not even I know."

"Okay, now also, this is still a dire secret, tell no one no matter what. I recommend you to avoid duels. If you lose a duel, you lose your Data key. I can't guarantee that's the only thing. Now for the last and final thing, the keys themselves." He lifted a case from somewhere under his desk and placed it on top of the table. He unlocked it with a key dangled around his wrist. Six devices, strung onto a black cord lay separate inside it. Kaiba nodded and the six of them reached forward to grab one.

"Now scan your card along the side of your key." A green laser appeared on them as they followed his instructions. On a tiny screen, a different symbol for each appeared. "Um… okay…" Alexis said puzzled.

"From that second you touched the card's edge to the key, you've transferred the individual codes to it. That is all. And good luck to all of you."

-X-

Before you review, please note of the following:

I don't flipping care if you say, "you copied the Sacred Beasts Saga!" Yeah, sure there's similarity but I still spent time on this plot.

Do you think Shiyo is a Mary-Sue? Give me reasons and I'll consider the matter.

If you want to know what the symbols look like, review/PM me for a link.

I'm not in the finest mood.

Well that's it! Reviews appreciated as always.


	3. Scratching the Surface

The evening sky was darkening slightly, yet the weather was strangely perfect. Alexis was thinking hard about thoughts about her personal relations and what just happened recently. Alexis finally sighed, her mind made up. She tapped Atticus' shoulder while they were approaching the car.

"What is it?" Atticus asked turning around to face his sister. Alexis tried hard not to avoid his gaze, she tried hard not to make her face seem so obvious in what she was thinking.

"I need to do something, Atti. You can go home without me. I probably won't be home until night…" Her voice trailed off as Atticus raised an eyebrow. Then suddenly, his face split into a mischievous grin. **(Thought I was going to make Atticus always so serious, eh?) **

"I knew it!" He poked accusingly at Alexis' forehead. "You and Zane are going to have crazy sex, right?" He said a little too loud. Alexis immediately turned red and punched him in the face.

"What the hell makes you think that!? Yeah sure! Maybe I AM GOING TO VISIT ZANE!" She roared, brandishing her fist threateningly. Atticus rubbed the lump that formed on his cheek. "Okay, okay fine!" He said, really meaning, "please don't hit me!" "But how're you going to get home?"

"I'll walk."

"No you're not."

"I'll be fine, Atticus. I can defend myself. You know that. I think you're being a little overprotective."

Atticus was silent, thinking. "Fine…" He gave in a little unwillingly. "You better be careful."

Alexis gave him a hug before stepping back. "Thanks, Atti' I'll be fine."

With that he stepped in his car, and started the engine. She watched the car drive away for a minute before turning around only to be barely an inch away from Zane's chest. Being this close, she noticed how much different he looked in a white flannel shirt and khaki business coat.

She jumped back in surprise. "Er, hello, Zane! Were you standing behind me this whole time?" She said awkwardly, looking up at her friend she hadn't properly talked to in months. Zane blinked, a little surprised too. "'Hello Zane?' Who would say that? Well to answer your question, not really, I heard my name being mentioned. I don't normally do this but you know…"

Alexis regained her nerves. "Sorry, it's just been a really long time… Yeah, darn Atticus…" Zane put his arm around her waist affectionately. "Yeah, it has. How about we find a nice café and talk about things there?"

Alexis nodded and walked besides Zane, leaning a little closer to his body.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"One medium coffee," Alexis ordered over the counter. The cashier nodded, typing in the price. "That would be $4.95, thank you," said when Zane handed over the money. "I was going to pay…" Alexis muttered, withdrawing her hand from her pocket. Zane only chuckled and led her to a nearby table, next to a window.

"So how's your brother?" Zane asked. He seemed to be interested in the pleasantries. Alexis knew he was only approaching… That.

Alexis thanked the waitress who laid down the steaming coffee. When she walked away did Alexis answer.

"What kind of question is that? Don't act that pathetic Zane, you guys are best friends. I'm sure you've been staying in touch."

Zane sighed. "Well you've definitely gotten a little more observant. We can't talk about you-know-what in public. To be honest I need a little break from answering phone calls, signing paperwork, dueling, the pro life overall. For a few hours, let's just act like normal people, okay?"

Alexis shrugged. "Sure, so how many duels have you won so far? I have been staying tuned in but you know, it's hard to keep track."

So the two were engaged in an hour-long conversation on how Zane was able to whip the living crap out of all his opponents.

When Alexis threw away her coffee cup she turned to Zane. "Do you mind if we can go browsing the mall like _normal people?"_

Zane blinked nervously. For some reason, it seemed like it was going to more than just browsing.

Oh hell right it was.

The two, well actually only one of them enjoyed picking out a new fashion for Zane. It seemed to them that "Zane's style" was either blazers or business attires much to Alexis' dismay. She managed to force Zane into a silver-black tee with dark cargo pants.

Zane's eye twitched slightly in front of the mirror, Alexis right beside him. "I think this is overkill, Alexis…" He started.

"Overkill? How?"  
"Well… I think I'm a little old for this…"  
"Don't be so dull. Youth lasts forever in the inside so stop sulking!"

By then they had paid, decided to take another round around the packed mall, It was pretty late. Alexis requested to go home now, Zane offered a ride like he always would. Alexis refused saying she would rather walk. The truth was that she needed time alone to think about the Data Keys and responsibility dumped onto their shoulders. Reluctantly, Zane agreed.

Alexis made a very big mistake.

It was when she was walking down the street walk when it happened. Too bad she didn't notice how a lot of the lights were out. She thought the bright moon was enough for her; well let's guess she was wrong.

"So you're one of them huh?" A drawling voice said from the shadows. Alexis froze in her tracks, her eyes widened. Someone stepped in front of her but his face was hidden in the darkness. Alexis, alarmed, took a couple steps back. She was struck by an unnatural fear.

"W-what do you mean?" She said, her words faltering, unable to control her slight shaking. Memories of her meeting with Kaiba flashed in her mind. The figure laughed and a chill ran through Alexis.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you have one of those keys." He said. Alexis noticed a duel disk on his arm.

Alexis took another step backwards. "I… don't know what you're talking about!" The figure stepped closer. Kaiba's advice rung in her ears, "_avoid conflict"._ The next thing that happened was that fear completely took control. She turned and ran. Gasps of panic kept on escaping from her mouth.

What's wrong with me? 

In a blur of shadow, the mysterious person appeared in front of her. "What do you want?" Alexis cried, stepping back.

"I want a duel with you. Don't try denying or running. I know everything!" He kicked a duel disk towards her. "Ready you deck."

Alexis managed to control her trembling, but she was still sweating. She picked up the duel disk and inserted her deck.

"Duel!" They both shouted under the moonlight.

Alexis didn't know what to do, she fought hard, yet these strange monsters she had never seen cut down her monsters. Point after point, energy was drained from her. When her life points reached zero did she fall to the floor on her knees.

The nameless card she had received earlier fell from her hand and somehow flipped over. The strange figure towered above her. Finally, Alexis could see his face. It was covered in a black mask, red holes covered his eyes.

_No, no I couldn't of lost! Not now! _Panic rushed through her mind.

"How pathetic," he sneered. His foot stepped on the edge of the card. "I could just take your soul, and you're Data Key, but it would be totally useless if this card isn't activated." He turned away. "So then I'll spare you for now, but remember this, I will come for you and your weak friends later on." With that he disappeared. Alexis blinked as the fear and pain vanished. She gathered up her cards and forced herself up.

_I can't believe I was just attacked and I lost! Who are these people? How can they be so strong? I didn't stand a chance. But still, I can't tell anyone or they'd worry. But can I handle this task? I just almost lost my Data Key! And why was I so afraid? I couldn't think. There is something seriously wrong with all of this…_

_But what?_

-X-

So… I wrote this late at night, I'm really tired. So yeah, review.


	4. Corruption Duel?

Alexis timidly unlocked and opened her front door. She heard the rapid thumping of Atticus' feet as he raced down the stairs to confront her. "You're late…" He said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Sorry Atti," she said, hanging her coat on the rack, "We just lost track of time, I guess I wasn't paying attention." She shrugged. Atticus sighed. "Just don't do it again." Alexis nodded.

_He's acting really concerned and paranoid. I guess I can't blame him. Earlier today, it was kind of a bigger shock to all of us… _She fingered in her pocket and pulled out her special card. A pale maiden stood in the center of the picture, holding out a pale violet orb of light. Six white wings were spread around her. A silver half-mask hid part of her face, sharp eyes staring back at Alexis. The symbol to the right read: _WIND_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Why does she have to make me worry like that?" Atticus asked himself, seating his body at his bedroom desk. A lamp dimly lit the room. The blinds were shut tightly. He pulled out his Data Key and card. The name box remained blank, a sign of hopelessness. The monster's portrait pictured a dark gray dragon with crystal-like wings of black. Four yellow eyes stared fiercely; its jaws wide open revealing a dark tunnel, as if preparing to unleash a powerful attack. Three long, armored tails, surrounded it, giving off a dark, powerful feeling. Atticus narrowed his eyes. _When I know its name… Will it be too late? _His eyes shifted to the attribute: _DARK_.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chazz toyed with the dangling, silicon-constructed key. Its small screen reflected the light constantly as it twirled. A bored look was drawn onto his face. "So all we can do is just wait… How fun." He set the key down and pulled out his blank card. Out of pure boredom he stared at the illustration. It was a reptile-like creature with scales of various stones and rising spikes. The gold eyes looked so lifelike. The monster had a ferocious and raging feeling. Its gray teeth were barred in a frozen snarl. Chazz moved his gave to the upper right corner to view its attribute: _EARTH._

"Okay, if one of those guys find me and challenge me to a duel I'll just whoop their rears to next week… But Kaiba said avoid conflict! Man, what kind of advice is that!? Damn, damn, damn!"

He rumpled his hair in frustration as his three Ojamas actually floated silently beside him, switching weird expressions between each other.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And I play a spell card!" Jaden called out enthusiastically. Flashing a green-based card, grinning widely. Syrus sat on the side and sighed at his friend's imaginary duel. "You're getting too excited, Jay'."

Jaden shuffled his cards back into his deck. "So…" He turned to Syrus. He pulled out the card that was recently given to him. A tall, dark red monster was portrayed. A golden flame surrounded it as two salamander-like heads guarded each arm. Large, mahogany wings were perched onto its red, armored back. Jaden could almost feel an exciting, exhilarating aura radiating from it. His eyes darted to the element: _FIRE._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zane sat at the foot of his mattress. The Data key wrapped tightly around his palm and fingers holding onto his card. He observed the long, metallic serpent. Large, magnificent wings were spread out. Deep sky blue gems adorned its wings, shoulders, center, and eyes. Its almost never-ending tail curled in the background, giving it a superior and strong feeling. Zane closed his teal eyes in silent concentration. _You were such a moron letting her go home alone. You knew better! I should call her… make sure she's all right. Damn it, Atticus is probably after my blood. _He opened his eyes to grab his cell phone from the bedside table.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aster tapped continuously on the surface of his card, the key lying a short distance away. It was getting extremely late, he knew. _I dare those idiots to come after me… I mean what's the worse they can do? You know what I think? A little overreaction, that's what._

To help him think, he studied the unique card. A dark blue plated knight brandished a silver trident, baring its three sharp prongs. Four fin-like wings separated the ocean in the background giving off an aura of commandment. He observed the Attribute again: _WATER_

Suddenly, the lamplight that was illuminating Aster's face flickered before dieing out completely. Aster whirled around startled and opened his curtains to see he had missed a storm of some sort. The street lights nearby his living quarters were extinguished as well. Aster quickly grabbed the wired phone off his desk and dialed his butler's number. A few seconds and he picked up.

""May I help you, Master Phoenix?" Came Aleworth's voice.  
"Uh yeah, is there a power outage?" He asked, sounding impatient for an answer. **(AP has a special phone line in his mansion, just in case of blackouts etc.)**  
"Hold on, Master Phoenix," he said but shortly after he stopped talking, the line was cut.

"Shit!" Aster swore and kicked the table in frustration. He snapped back his attention to the phone when he heard a feminine voice.  
"Ooh, temper, eh Mr. Phoenix?" The unknown lady purred. Aster's eyes twitched, something was wrong.  
"How the hell did you get this number!?" Aster almost roared into the speaker. It was a secret, private line only accessible from _inside_ the Phoenix Manor! _Oh shit, that means-  
_"your security is pretty low, Mr. Phoenix!" The voice on the other line snickered before going on. "If you don't want me to ruin your precious house you better hand over that Data key. Your secret is not very much of a secret is it?"  
Aster fumed and panicked at the same time. _Where the hell do these people come from!? _There was no denying it. "Where… Do you want to meet?" He said, keeping his voice calm as if in a defeated manner.

The voice giggled. "Wonderful. I'd like to see you in the main room, right below you I believe… And by the way, you can call me Arial!" Arial hung up. Aster's hand was shaking in plain annoyance as he set the phone down. He thrust open his nearby drawer a little harder than he intended. He grabbed the duel disk in it and rushed down the hall and down the staircase. It was a first when Aster actually cursed on how long the steps were.

He jumped the last four steps and pushed open the French doors, revealing the dim, circular room, lit by only the moonlight, shining through the glass roof. His blue eyes stared, alert at the faint purple haze that was slowly fading away in front of him.

A teen stood before him, she seemed just a few years older than him. Arial noticed the Duel disk on Aster's arm and he noticed the same to her.

A mocking pout crossed her face. "Aw, I though we were going to do this the easy way. I'll ask you again, just hand over your data key and card." She held out a manicured hand expecting Aster to forfeit his items. Aster snorted. "How pathetic. What makes you think I'm just going to hand this over?" He dangled the key, as if teasing Arial. With that, he slipped it around his neck.

Her violet hair bristled angrily, green eyes flashing. "Fine! I gave you a chance! Now I guess I'm going to have to beat you, kiddo!" She pressed a small switch on her wristband. Aster flinched as he heard the heavy French doors click.

"How the hell did you hack into my system!?" He roared.

Arial smirked as she shrugged. "I have secrets, so are we going to duel of not?" Aster's brow wrinkled as he wordlessly slipped his deck in to the Duel Disk.

"If I win," he started. "I keep my Data Key and card and you have to leave all key holders alone."

"Fine," she agreed. "But if I win, I get your key and card, but also I get to keep your soul as a hostage." Aster's eyes narrowed.

"I agree," he said.

"Duel!" They both shouted.

Aster- 4000

Arial- 4000

"I think I'll start with Enigmatic Rose bud! (0/1000)" Arial declared, setting a monster card down. A large, red bud appeared, black thorns littered its stem.  
"I place a face-down and that's it."

Aster drew. "I summon E-hero Avian in defense mode! I lay two face downs and end my turn."

Arial drew. "I summon another rosebud and I sacrifice them both for my Dark Forest Nymph! (2100/2000)" A green skinned fairy in pale robes flapped her butterfly-like wings, giggling slightly cracking a thorn whip.

"Go, Dark Forest Nymph and destroy that Avian!" The monster sent it's weapon to attack Avian but Aster flipped over one of his traps. "I activate Hero Shield! By discarding E-hero Clayman from my hand I negate your attack." The whip was flung back by a golden force field. Arial laughed. "My Dark Forest Nymph has effect when every time a trap card is activated during my battle phase, 1000 life points is deducted from you!"

Aster braced himself as sharp, long thorns grazed his skin. He felt the stinging pain and opened his eyes to see a bright red cut, which sealed up instantly before spilling any blood. His blue eyes shrunk in horror as he let out a gasp of pain.

Aster- 3000  
Arial- 4000

All that happened in less than a second.

Arial chuckled. "I know what you're thinking. This isn't a shadow game. Ever heard of a Corruption duel? It's worse, damage is inflicted physically but the players regenerate quickly. However, further into a duel sometimes one can't take the pain anymore and their regeneration weakens right until the person dies." Aster growled angrily. "What the hell? That is sick! What the hell is the point of that?"

Arial flashed a black marking on her wrist; it was in the shape of a twisted flower. "Pain is used to seduce our victims into surrender. This special power can only be activated by the permission of the Lord."

A surprised look crossed his face. "The Lord?" He asked. Arial touched her lips with her finger. "Aw nuts, I've said too much. Let's see who falls first! I end my turn."

Aster drew. _This is so screwed up. _"I activate Polymerization to fuse my Avian on the field and Burstinatrix from my hand to form E-hero Phoenix Enforcer! Attack that Forest Nymph, Phoenix Enforcer!" Aster commanded. His monster let out a bright beam of cyan light, engulfing and destroying Arial's Dark Forest Nymph. She screamed in the explosion. "Wait… That-"

As the smoke cleared, her obvious burns left. "Hold on," Aster pointed, "his special ability prevents him from being destroyed, so it doesn't matter whether their attacks match equally.

Aster- 3000  
Arial- 4000

Arial grinned, Aster flinched, "shame we just started this duel and I already have to reveal my more merciless side. First, I activate my facedown, Ruthless Suffering! For every card in my graveyard, you lose 500 lifepoints. This is a continuous trap. Every turn I don't have a monster on my field, you lose 500 more lifepoints. Of course, there's catch. I have to remove one card in my graveyard from the game."

Aster let out a cry of pain as deep cuts were embedded into his limbs, this time the wounds didn't heal so instantly. A few drops of blood were spilt before they sealed up. Aster bit back a curse.

Aster- 1500

Arial- 4000

"I'm not done! I activate Soul Exchange and sacrifice your E-hero Phoenix Enforcer to summon Sorceress of the Red Thorns- Sureil (2300/1200). Due to Soul Exchange's set back, I can't attack but you just wait. I end my turn."

Now Aster was stuck.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alexis picked up. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, 'Lexi it's Zane. You're fine right?"

Alexis sighed. "Hi. Yeah, of course I am, why shouldn't I?" Silence on the other end. "I'm just making sure. That's all."

"Well, okay, thanks. You?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Listen up, Alexis. I'm just worried for you and all the rest. I just don't want…." She heard a stressful sigh. "Never mind, just look out for yourself, okay?"

Alexis bit back a retort. Zane sounded a little tired; she didn't want to make things worse for him. "Yeah, sure."

"Bye."

"Bye."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Some turns later 

"I activate my Sorceress's effect again to remove her from play just this turn and inflict another 500 points of damage!" Aster spit out another globule of blood as the attack passed.

Aster- 500

Arial- 4000

Trembling, Aster drew a card. Raw scratches could be seen all over his face and hands. His clothes were torn here and there. He clenched his eyes in hopelessness before looking at the card he drew. It was that special blank card. His eyes widened. _This can be my only hope, but it's completely useless without the name… _

He placed the card in his hand. _If I destroy that monster, I'll lose the next turn. If I let it be, she'll remove it from play again and I'll lose the game anyways._

"_Don't give up, Aster…" _He heard a strange voice.

_What? Who's there?_

"_Never mind that. Destroy that monster and I'll take care of the rest. If you want to know my name, you have to trust me."_

His eyes widened. "I can win…" He whispered.

Arial grinned. "Are you that hopeless now? You could've just given me the key from the beginning you know, now no matter what, I'll win in this duel!"

"You're wrong!" Aster shouted, Arial only grinned wider. "Whatever you say."

"I know!" Aster scanned his hand. "I activate Instant Call and summon my D-Hero Dasher! Now attack her Sorceress!"

"Man, you are such a moron for trying, I'll win anyways!" Her monster shattered under the hit and she flinched as the shards cut her.

And then Aster's hand started glowing. _"Look closer." _He heard it again and slowly yet surely, the name began to spell itself across the top.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shiyo almost upset her mug of coffee as her tracker system began beeping wildly. "What? Someone already activated their card already?" She squinted at the name. "Aster Phoenix, my God, that was fast." She pressed the button on her nearby speaker, sending out voice messages to the other five. "Okay listen up, your friend, Aster is currently being attacked. I don't now-"

She was interrupted by Alexis' startled voice soon joined by the others. "What, where!? Aster?"

Shiyo sighed, realizing she made a really dumb mistake. "I'm not telling the location, you all might just blow your cover. Right now he's still alive and-"

"STILL ALIVE!?" Jaden shouted on the other end. "You're sounding like he might die any sec-"

"Well he is-"

Zane's voice went on before Jaden could interrupt. "Shiyo can you keep track on him for us?"

"Yeah, of course. That's what I'm here for… The good news is he activated that special card so he should have a good chance at winning."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I summon my Data Guardian- Yele!" A torrent of green aura swirled around him, shifting around his silver bangs. The powerful monster brandished its blade in all his glory. Aster grinned and crossed his arms while Arial took a step back in horror.

"No, you couldn't have just summoned him!" She gasped.

"It's time to end this! Sure it took me some time to figure up a strategy but now it's all over for you, Go Yele and diminish the rest of her lifepoints!"

His monster let loose a blast of green light, absorbing his opponent. The deafening sound drowned out everything else and when the smoke and light finally cleared, a coin fell from where she was standing. The holograms faded, Aster held up the card. The name and effect faded away again.

He walked over to where Arial was standing and picked up the rusty, silver coin. Carved onto its surface was the same twisted rose except it blurred before taking a new image. Before his eyes, the same symbol from his data key carved itself onto the smooth surface.

_That was close._

_-X-_

Man, Im sorry for not updating in such a long time, I have math placement tests and all that crap. I spent three hours on this chapter and 6 hours on a picture of Zane's monster. (Heheh, Zane always goes first in my world) Visit my profile to get the link. Review!

_**Fifth Data Guardian- Yele  
**__**Level 10  
**__**4500/1000  
**__**Warrior/Water  
**__**Effect- This monster can only be summoned when monsters  
in the player's graveyard have attack points summed to under  
4500. Negate all spell, trap, and monster effects onthe turn this  
card is summoned.**_


	5. Blaze of Glory?

It was a dark and dank place. Smell of death clung to the air. It was no sanctuary to outsiders nor was it actually a living "hell." A silhouette of a person laid back in a chair or throne was the only thing visible. Well besides the fact that there was someone kneeling before him.

"You were so foolish," The larger figure said, his voice was strong, despite the deadening look of the place. The addressed person bowed his head even lower.

"I'm sorry, Master. I was just playing with her to see how these Guardians duel, I wasn't aiming to take her card and key. They weren't even activated yet. They're useless to us if they aren't, I'm pretty sure of my sources."

There was a short pause as if the Master had just received some unexpected information. "Activation… So it was a lie eh? I guess it was right of Arial to perish. Fool, she delivered the wrong information…"

The bowing form lifted his head. "It's true, Master. The only way these things can be activated is when someone of great dueling power faces against them. Well I think that's the only source. There might be other ways. There's a problem. Well it may not be a problem but when a card is activated mid-duel, it releases its top point of power, giving us little chance of winning."

The Master chuckled. "That won't be a problem."

There was another pause before the other asked. "Is this plan going well so far, Master?"

"Too soon to really say but don't worry, Anguish I have another part of this plan, one none of them can avoid."

Anguish knew better not to ask unnecessary questions. "That's good to hear."

"And you, I have a job for you. It shouldn't be too difficult. I want you to take Zane Truesdale's brother hostage. Play him well, Anguish. Glass is strong but when there's a sudden crack, the whole think comes falling down."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aster had long recovered from the duel, he was laxing on his gray couch before hearing a buzz from his butler.

"What is it?" Aster asked, a little pissed after being deprived of his sleep.

"Sir Jaden Yuki and Syrus Truesdale would like to see you."

_Oh great, it's them. _"Okay, send them up."

He stood before walking up to his room's entrance, expecting them. A few minutes of absolute silence, the elevator's doors slid open.

Aster opened his mouth to say something, instead he was greeted by a heavy blow to the face.

Syrus covered his face as Jaden angrily brandished his vein-throbbing fist.

Both shouted at the top of their lungs, "**WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!"**

Before Syrus knew it they were both yelling at each other.

"YOU CAN'T JUST WALK INTO MY PLACE AND DECIDE TO PUNCH ME IN THE-"

"YOU CANT JUST GO DUEL SOME PERSON WHO'S AFTER YOUR LIFE AND MAKE US ALL WORRIED AS-"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER MY POINT IS-"

"WELL I'LL TELL YOU WHAT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU CAN JUST SCARE US HALF TO DEATH JUST BECAUSE WE'RE-"

The two didn't notice as Syrus stepped back slowly and down the elevator.

"What is it?" The butler asked. Syrus didn't answer since their screaming could even be heard from the first floor. "I see Master Phoenix and Mr. Yuki need to sort out their problems, I guess you can go outside if you wish, it's nice weather."

Syrus thanked him before exiting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was the end of the line, they ran out of insults, accusations, and excuses. Both were out of breath. The argument was followed by a very awkward silence.

"Sorry." Jaden said.

Aster nodded. "Yeah… Sorry."

More awkward silence.

"So… Where's Syrus?" Aster asked, looking towards the elevator.

"I think we scared him off, let's go check on-"

His words were cut off by a scream. Jaden panicked. "That sounds like Sy'!"

He ran down the stairs and Aster, exasperated followed. "Sounds like a girl."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

His scream turned into muffled gasps for air. Syrus' eyes closed, before he lost conscience he heard Jaden's shouts. Then he heard and saw nothing at all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They both saw a cloaked figure funning away from the front. "Hey you!" Aster shouted, quickening is pace despite his aching limbs. Jaden did the same as well, Soon the faced a convenient fork in the road. "We'll split up," Jaden said. Aster nodded and they did.

Jaden was cursing in his thoughts _This is so great, Syrus goes missing, we're chasing some guy we don't even know. Zane will probably murder me. And worst of all we don't even know what we're running into!_

His thinking was interrupted as a person stepped in front of him. Jaden's eyes widened as he saw the duel disk on his arm.

"Um, dude, this isn't a really good time." Jaden said putting on a fake grin. He stepped back before tripping over some object. He looked, it was a duel disk. "How did that get there?" He pushed himself up, looking at the guy. He had wavy, dark red hair and bright green eyes.

"It doesn't matter if this is a good time or not, you act horribly." He said. "I'm here for your Data Card and Key." He explained simply at the confused look on Jaden's face.

_Well no use denying it._

"Okay well time to duel I guess, but before we start I'd like your name."

"Leo, pleasure to duel and defeat you!" He grinned.

"Duel!" The both shouted, drawing their hands.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Damn, where is he!? I wonder if Jaden caught him." He stopped for a bit to catch his breath before running again.

He now faced a busy street. Aster cursed and ran left, dodging people and hoped that no one will notice him. There was no sign of Syrus or his kidnapper. Aster whirled around, looking everywhere again, still no sign. He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open vigorously. "I have to warn the others."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I'm glad you guys could come, you know, to talk about everything." Alexis said, addressing Chazz and Zane. Atticus sat beside his sister. Zane nodded and Chazz said, "It's no problem, Alexis! I'm always here for you!"

Alexis wanted to roll her eyes but resisted. She started, "Aster has already been attacked and it's great that he won and all, but what about the rest of us, it's not that I doubt you all or anything. Syrus and Jaden went to visit him and frankly, I'm worried. All we can do is defend ourselves, we have no traces on who these people are and why they want Kaiba's information so badly."

She paused to see if anyone had his or her input. Suddenly, a high ringing could be heard. They all flinched. Zane apologized before taking his phone out and automatically looked on the tiny screen, a familiar number could be seen, blinking. _Aster? How did he get my number and why would he be calling now?_

He answered, "Hello?" The rest were staring intent at him.

A few seconds past and Zane's pupils shrunk in horror but he quickly recovered. His hand was gripping the phone tightly.

"Okay, got it." His voice was calm yet so cold. Alexis flinched, it reminded her of Hell Kaiser. He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"What, is it, Zane?" Atticus asked. Zane's eyes were shadowed by his bangs. The light reflecting off of them gave them an eerie effect.

"They have Syrus."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Noble Dragon, attack his E-hero Sparkman!" Jaden braced himself as red flames engulfed him and destroyed his monster. Jaden felt sharp burns on his skin but the pain quickly disappeared.

Jaden- 3600

Leo- 4000

"Is this a shadow game?" Jaden asked, drawing a card and inserting it into his hand.

Leo shook his head. "Naw, it's more of a Corruption Game. I guess you're new to this all, huh? The monsters and cards are all real but the pain is different. It's inflicted physically. The wounds are real as well but they heal instantly depending on your energy. So later, either someone dies since they can't heal fast enough or the duel ends when someone's lifepoints reach zero. It's actually fun and exciting." He grinned, maliciously.

Jaden nodded. "That is different and I never heard of them before but I guess they change duels a hell lot. I summon Neo-Spacien Air Hummingbird! For every card in your hand, I gain 500 lifepoints. And you have three cards! 1500 points for me."

Jaden- 5100

Leo- 4000

Leo grimaced as Jaden's monster retreated after picking at his cards. "I place two facedowns and end my turn."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_What the hell is wrong with you Zane? You should've seen this coming! Why didn't you take precautions, and look. Now your own little brother is at the mercy of your greatest enemies right now. You idiot. _Zane rested his head against the cold glass. The others still sat there, a nervous silence hung in the air.

Alexis looked pleadingly at Atticus. For twice, they didn't know what to do. Finally, Chazz sat up. "You know what? I'm leaving and I am going to kick their sorry little asses." He expected Zane to at least open his eyes.

He didn't stir at all. A vein throbbed in Chazz's temple. When five seconds passed, Chazz was about to yell something when Zane said, "I thought you were leaving." He didn't snap, he didn't even yell.

His words were calm but that barely hid their coldness.

"Zane…" Alexis said. "We can't just sit here, we have to get your brother back."

He resisted the urge to snap at her but nodded. He said, "Okay… we're stopping by the Phoenix manor."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"That moron, we were supposed to meet here!" Aster looked around, a little pissed because of the past events.

"Possibility A: He's still looking for Syrus, Possibility B: Oh shit." He said aloud then resided to his thoughts. _Or he might've been challenged to those screwed up duels. Should I find him? I might put myself in danger, oh what the hell!_

With that he took off down the street, careful for any suspicious movement. And of course, not too far away, he could see the duel he was looking for. Aster quickened his pace. He stopped and he could clearly see Jaden was in no good shape. _Damn! I should've warned him! _Thin scratches could be seen on his arms and legs. A few drops of blood were visible to him on the ground.

_According to that, Jaden must've been in this duel for some time. _

"You idiot!" Aster called out. "Why'd you get yourself in this mess!?"

Jaden was panting as he turned his gaze to Aster. "'Cause he might have Syrus!"

"And if he doesn't! You're risking your life!"

Jaden ignored him and started his turn.

-Few turns later-

"I activate Divine Heraldry! This lets me sacrifice my Noble Priest and Knight for Dark Incinerating Dragon (2600/2400) I have to remove at least one card from my hand for an attack but unfortunately for you, his attacks aren't limited once per turn!"

Aster and Jaden grimaced. This was not going to be good.

"I remove two cards from my hand to attack your Flame Wingman and E-hero Neos!" The dark-green scaled dragon roared and formed a fireball between its jaws and sent it flying towards Jaden.

An almost deafening explosion could be heard, drowning out Jaden's scream of pain.

Jaden- 2400  
Leo- 4000

"Activate your Data Guardian, moron!" Aster shouted, a desperate look on his face. Smoke trailed from Jaden's skin as the red blotches remained. Leo ended his turn, a dark smirk on his face.

Jaden shakily drew a card. _I want to Aster, but I don't know how!_

He suddenly realized what was in his hand. It was blank. The name slowly faded into view across the top. Jaden could almost feel the energy returning to him.

He was used to hearing spirits' voices. And when one spoke to him again, he didn't flinch or question it at all. _Jeeze, man. You've been through a lot. About time you drew me. Can't bear to get my holder killed. Now listen carefully, if you want to live I'd summon your little Kuriboh dude, evolve him and sacrifice him to summon me. With that I'll ensure victory._

Jaden nodded and grinned with anticipation. _Got that, make sure you make a dramatic appearance, okay?_

_Yeah, sure._

"Okay I summon my buddy, Winged Kuriboh! I also use this nice spell card I like to call 'Level' up. This turns my Winged Kuriboh to Level 10!"

_Even with its effect, it wont afflict enough damage to end this duel! And I don't think Jaden can handle anymore burning. _Aster thought.

It was apparent that Leo thought the same thing.

"I'm not done summoning things!" Jaden declared, a little annoyed at their lack of emotion. They let out a cry of surprise.

"I sacrifice, yup that's right! I sacrifice my Winged Kuriboh level 10 to summon this bad boy! Data Guardian Teralade!"

Aster lifted his arms to brace against the strong wing that picked up. He smiled _About time, wouldn't be a good thing if you lost._

Leo predictably stepped back, a look of terror on his face. Teralade spread his glowing red wings, veins of glowing lava decorated his armor. He brandished a scarlet blade. He felt burning energy radiating from it.

"So what!" Leo roared. "Your guardian is still weaker than mine!"

"When Teralade is summoned, it destroys all monsters on the field. And the owner of each card gets dealt with points of damage equal to the monster's attack for each." Jaden's monster jumped out and slashed Leo's dragon with a burst of flame. It screeched as its body was consumed and disintegrated in the raging fire.

"Now that's his only ability, now Data Guardian Teralade can attack you directly! Go!" A brilliant burst of flame and energy consumed the battlefield. Aster almost cheered.

Jaden- 2400

Leo- 0000

When the smoke and holograms cleared, All they could see was a glowing silhouette of Jaden's former opponent. It quickly turned in to specks of light and faded. A coin fell to the ground, a small _cling_ broke the waiting silence. Jaden walked over and picked up the coin. It felt hot, as if I were just sitting on an open flame.

A Rampart-positioned lion on it's surfaced erased itself to be replaced by the same marking found on the screen of Jaden's Data key.

Aster's smile faded as he realized reality.

Jaden clenched the coin in his shaking fist. "Dammit."

-X-

Sorry for the late update again! I've just been bothered by school (which is now over for me yay!) and other crap like that.

**3****rd**** Data Guardian- Teralade**

**Level 10**

**Warrior/Fire**

**This card can only be summoned when one monster leveled 10 or higher is offered as tribute. This card cannot be destroyed in battle. On the first turn this card is summoned, destroy all monsters on the field. Owners of the destroyed monsters receive damage equal to the sum of their respective monster's attack points.**


	6. You're going to Hate the End

Sorry for the long update on this story guys X-x but here's the chapter! At long last of course…

-X-

**Chapter 6**

**You're going to hate the End **

Syrus blinked. His vision was blurry behind his smudged glasses. He felt his wrists ache as they were handcuffed behind his back. He observed his surroundings. A dark, windowless room with a lone light bulb hanging from the middle of the low ceiling.

_Ugh, where am I? _He struggled to stand up as his knees buckled before he could steady himself. Syrus walked carefully to the door write in front of him He turned around and tried to turn the knob but it was firmly locked.

_Figures… _

He flinched slightly as he heard the knob click. Fearing on who his visitor would be, he stumbled back.

He stared in the face… or no one.

Well the same person who had taken him the other day he thought.  
Syrus didn't get to see his features. He wore a pitch black mask with shining green eyes. The rest of his head was covered in a hood.

"What do you want?" Syrus asked, feeling a little helpless since his arms were rendered useless.  
"It's obvious, we want the Data keys." His voice was unidentifiable; it was distorted through some mechanical mouthpiece, something like Darth Vador.

"What's so special about them anyways?" Syrus continued to ask, fiddling with his bindings.

"You don't need to know that reason, you don't need to know anything," he said. With that he turned around and ordered two gruff-looking henchmen.  
"Take him to the VD beta room."

- - - - - - - - -

"This is all my fault…"

"No it isn't, why are you blaming yourself so much?"

"It is! I could've seen this coming!"

"This isn't like you, Zane! You're worrying too much, we're going to get him back."

"Atticus is right, Zane…" Alexis said. She just finished bandaging Jaden's cheek. "After all, Aster and Jaden both got a clue."

Aster was leaning against the wall. "It's true, and it was meant for you, Zane." He handed the letter to him.

"How did you get this?" Zane asked, he untied the letter and read silently first before reading out loud.

"If you want to see Syrus again meet us at the location below." He paused as he carefully scanned the sentence. His eyes widened. "Why here…?"

"What? Where is it?" the rest asked.

"It's not a map. It's words… Land between the two Rivers."

"What?" Atticus asked, clearly confused.  
Aster shrugged while Jaden followed suit with Atticus.

"I know that place…" Alexis said suddenly. "But I'm not sure…"  
"I'm not sure either but…" his voice rose.

Alexis stared down at her hands thinking hard. "It's on the tip of my tongue… The Nile… no. That's one river. Of course! I learned about this some time ago!"

"What, learned what?"

"It's the Tigris and-"

"Euphrates!" Zane finished. "Its so simple, every 11-year old knows this. So that means the two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates… the land between them. That would be the fertile crescent, but why there, honestly? It seems rather unfitting."

Alexis agreed but before she could say anything Atticus retorted "Since when were you two both geography experts?"

"We're not experts, Atti'" Alexis said a little annoyed. She returned her attention to Zane.

"So "Land between the Two Rivers" That's either the Fertile Crescent or the Mediterranean."

"But Mediterranean is Greek for "Land between". It still doesn't make sense though. These place or places are heavily populated. You think someone would notice these shady characters."

They all fell silent, thinking hard.

"It's worth a try," Aster said. Jaden nodded, "But how are we going to fly all the way to Africa?"

Chazz paled. They all turned to him.

"What?" He asked irritated.

"Chazz…" Alexis asked threateningly sweet. Atticus nudged him.

"Okay fine we'll take my jet. It'll probably be a 10-hour flight." He gave in. He pulled out his black cell phone.

"As soon as possible, yeah, yeah, I know how late it is, okay fine, tell him I'll increase the pay. Okay, tomorrow morning? Got it."

**-Next Day- **

"We'll be taking off shortly. Please buckle your seatbelts and enjoy the flight!" The attendant recited.

They all had their own seats, heads turned towards the aisle so they were all facing each other. The craft lurched forward and gained momentum as it took off into the air.

Jaden wrinkled his nose as his ears popped. Alexis said to Zane, "Did you tell Shiyo about this?"

He nodded. "Yeah, the other night. She has this Jet under radar so for now she'll know where we are."

The ride smoothened, as they remained airborne. They unbuckled to be more comfortable. Zane took out the letter again and scanned it.

_Look at the location below… Land between the two rivers… Mediterranean, between the Tigris and Euphrates…Look at the location below. This all doesn't make sense… _He slipped the paper back into his pocket.

Aster had a silver notebook (notebook as in those laptop things) propped on his lap. "Hey guys hear this. A few sources say there was an archeological dig near Luxor in 1756. On the tenth year of the dig, they discovered a narrow tunnel beneath the desert. Wondering how it came to be they decided to investigate. It was discovered that the 50-mile passageway was constructed of an ancient stone rumored to be something called Orichalcum."**(I didn't get this from Jim's eye; don't imply plot thieving please, this is based off of mythology and history. 0-o)**

"Orichalcum was the legendary metal used by the Atlanteans…" Alexis said.

Aster went on. "The archeologists in the lead were puzzled by this finding since Orichalcum was mostly found in Greek mythology, not Egyptian or Islamic writings and myths. In 1820 they only managed to go in 50-miles of the passage before it spontaneously caved in, killing the archeological group. Since then the government had cut the income for the site's funding."

"Oh well that's nice…" Chazz said.

Alexis asked, "This is interesting and all but what does this have to do with our search for Syrus?"

"Because it says before the passage caved in, one archeologist made a note of something he found on the walls repeatably. They posted the sketch online." He turned the screen to the others.

"There are six symbols…" Aster said quietly.

"And those six symbols are on our data keys." Zane finished.

- - - - - - - - -

"Ugh that hurts!" Syrus said a little angrily as one of then men manhandled him. "Quiet you, we're almost there."

The other said. "Be glad that we're not dragging you."

When Syrus thought he was just about to split in half, the man holding him dropped him.

"Ouch," He rubbed his shoulder, which banged against the floor. He pushed himself up and looked through the glass doors that slid open.

He found the same masked guy from earlier. They pushed Syrus into the room and the door shut behind him.

Syrus stumbled and tried to regain his balance. He noticed several Virtual Reality pods, similar to the ones at Kaibaland.

"What the.." Syrus' voice trailed off. "What do you want me to do?"

"We're going to send you to a virtual world of our own creation." He gestured at a pod. "Please don't make my force you to cooperate."

Syrus stood there for a second before he started walking slowly to it. "And why should I trust you?"

He didn't answer right away. "You don't have to. Its either this or we're going to have to hurt your friends."

Syrus' eyes widened. "You have them?"

He shook hi head. "No, but we have the ability to. Now are you going to cooperate or not?" He knew this was no idle threat. He sat down and laid back against the firm seat.

"Who are you?" He finally asked.

The guy removed his mask. Syrus gasped loudly, he couldn't believe his eyes, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible! How could this be…? But before he could say anything, the glass slid down and he was knocked out.

The man stared at his reflection in the glass.

A face with teal hair and emerald eyes stared back at him.

-X-

DUN DUN DUN! Omg a cliffie? You must hate me now eh? XD Well that's it for the sixth chapter. Okay, you know, the geography mythology and history are going to be altered just a /tiny/ bit m kay? If you want to predict what I'm planning you can look up stuff on Wikipedia if you want.

Well its getting really late so, toodles! (I hope I didn't forget anything…)


	7. More Technical Difficulties

Well a lot of you guys were guessing Johan to be Anguish last chapter… Well guess what…?

I'm not telling you anything, you can keep guessing if you like but, I'm not going to say if you're right or wrong. But Im updating a little early because Im not that evil to leave you guys at a cliffhanger for that long.

_**Or am I?**_

Chapter 7 

**More Technical Difficulties**

"Wait, hold up!" Atticus said, clearly a little skeptical of this information. "This can't be. Kaiba and Pegasus would have at least mentioned something about all this mythology and stuff. All they said was we just had to guard keys to computer data."

Then Zane added. "But now the question is, what is this data? Why's it so important?"

Chazz nodded and crossed his arms, a defiant gleam in his eyes. "That's right, if we're going to risk our lives for these keys and for Kaiba's information's sake, we deserve to know what exactly we're protecting."

Alexis sat back with a sigh, tired and stressed. "There has to be a reason why they're hiding this stuff from us. I mean, we're already in danger by holding the keys themselves, so knowing this info wouldn't hurt."  
Jaden didn't talk much due to the fact he had a long gash on his cheek, so he shrugged and looked closer at Aster's computer screen.

"Hey guys, can we all take our keys out, it seems these symbols appear in different orders and patterns throughout these sketches." Aster said looking at the rest.

There was a second of silence before everyone either pulled their items from around their necks or pockets. They switched the tiny screens on as their symbols pixilated. "Flash the screens over here, guys," Aster continued. He observed each key carefully, his blue eyes darting from the different screens and back.

"Okay, set 1 is  
**Water Wind Dark Earth Light Fire**

Set 2 is  
**Light Wind Fire Water Earth Dark**

Set 3  
**Wind Dark Earth Light Fire Water**

And here's the last set  
**Water Fire Earth Wind Dark Light.**"

Aster wasn't done. "Hold on there's more, it says that under each set was a word or phrase in Greek lettering. It says Set one had "Destruction" Set two had "Peace" Set three had "Forever Wondering". And the last had "Rebirth". Whatever this means, our keys have something to do with this or Pegasus is playing a joke on us."

"Why don't we just contact them right now?" Atticus suggested.  
"A fax is unreliable, we don't know where it'll end up for sure. And whatever signal we have up here is terrible, we wont be able to understand each other at all and we don't have internet."

"Then how is-"

"I have a built in encyclopedia on this thing," Aster said, tapping on the side of his notebook. "It updates itself with reliable sources when I connect to the internet."

Alexis asked, "Where does your computer get the memory?"

"That's what a lot of people asked me, this is really expensive you know. It has 120 GB so holding any interesting articles in an encyclopedia is no problem."

Before anyone could get back on topic, there was a huge _**BANG**_ that shook the seats a bit.

"What the hell was that?" Aster said, sweating after they all got scared half to death. Chazz stood up. "Ugh, it came from the cargo room in the back I'll go check."

Zane and Atticus stood up. "Atticus and I'll go check on the pilots and ask them about it." He told them. They nodded and Chazz slid open the compartment door as Zane and Atticus headed the other way. They vanished behind the dark gray doors.

"I wonder what was that…" Alexis said, rubbing her arms, recovering from the shock. Jaden finally said something, "I dunno, but I don't have a really good feeling about it."

"They'll be okay, this is Chazz's private jet." Aster insisted. "While we're waiting lets see if we can make more out of the information we have, We're going to have to wait till we land before we contact either Pegasus or Kaiba." The other two agreed and took seats beside the silver-haired teen.

"I can't make heads or tails of the sets of symbols," Alexis said, a little frustrated. She fell silent thinking hard.

"Neither can I," Aster wrinkled his brows and concentrated. "Besides the last set holds the elements in opposite… But that doesn't mean anything. At least not now."

**And now for a generic movie scene.**

The two older guys passed through the attendants' work area. It was empty and strangely quiet. The door slid closed behind them as they reached the piloting pit. Zane lifted a hand and knocked. No answer.

"What the-" We grabbed the handle and tugged on it, it was stuck. Atticus lent a hand and the two pulled as hard as they could. "Open up!" Atticus shouted. Still no answer.

"This thing is held in place with a tab," Zane thought logically. "Pulling isn't going to do anything." He lifted his foot. "Atticus, I know I said violence wasn't the key to success, but lets say I lied." Atticus grinned and followed suit with Zane. "On three…"

"THREE!"

they smashed their feet against the door, it split on the left before Atticus kicked it down.

When they finally got the thin barrier out of the way they looked at the seats. It was like the attendant's compartment.

They panicked.

"Where the hell are the pilots!?" Atticus shouted frantically. The two ran to the controls.

"Who's been driving this damn plane for the last four hours!?"

Zane cursed heavily. "I only know the basics, good enough for a misting plane only, not a jet. We can't fly this! And if we don't do something…" He traced the route with his finger on the side screen.

"What, what'll happen?"

"Our Elevation's too low. In approximately three hours…" Zane's face paled.

Atticus waited for him to finish.

"We'll crash into the East African Mountain Range."

"I have to tell the others," Atticus turned around and tried to open the second remaining door.

Zane quickly grabbed the mouthpiece from his top left and dialed the nearest flight tower's number.

"Princeton Jet, we set flight almost five hours ago. Requesting assistance," Zane said. "Our pilots are missing and if we don't get any help soon, we're going to die in less than three hours." As he said that he heard Atticus swear and shout, "Dammit! Zane we're locked in, I can't even get an inch's reach of the door!"

Zane's eyes widened as he heard a sinister voice on the other end. "_Nice try Truesdale, but I'm afraid you're alone on this one."_

Atticus rushed to his side after failing to beat through the invisible shield. He opened his mouth to say something but Zane held up a hand to silence him.

"_You're not going to die in three hours, actually only one." _Zane bit his lip, he tasted a bitter liquid.

As it was dead quiet, the two heard a steady, faint beeping. Atticus turned and walked to the corner's cabinet and tugged open the door.

It was a bomb.

"Zane… this thing is set to designate in one hour," Atticus said quietly, staring at the red countdown.

He heard the voice laugh. _"That's right, and there's no point in trying to defuse it. If you touch it in the wrong places, it'll explode and you'll all end up dead. There's only one way to stop that bomb. One of your friends is probably dueling one of my servants. If he gets lucky and win, he'll get a special key to deactivate it but you'll die anyways since those mountains are coming pretty close. If he loses… I'll let you guess. Good luck, Mr. Truesdale, Mr. Rhodes." _The line cut itself and Zane was left with the device clutched dangerously tight in his hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Okay, so what exactly went wrong here…?" Chazz asked himself, pushing a few boxes out of the way that were left over from their last flight.

His three duel spirits appeared beside him.  
"I don't have a very good feeling about this, Boss," Ojama Yellow said, casting nervous looks around them.  
"Yeah, Yellow's right," Green agreed. Ojama Black nodded. "Let's get out of here, Boss."

Before Chazz could say anything and swat the pest away he heard the door click behind him. "What the-" He rushed back and tried to tug at the handle, but a stinging force field seemed to be repelling his touch. He tried pounding it to no avail.

"Oh no, we're trapped!" Ojama Yellow screamed.

"It's no use, the only way those shields will fail is if I command them to," someone said behind them.

Chazz whirled around. "Who are you and how did you get on my jet!?' Chazz demanded.

A man in his early twenties revealed himself, he had bleach blond hair with sharp green eyes. "You have really sucky secretaries, after impressing them with my skills on all sorts of vehicles, they agreed to hire me since no one else wanted to pilot your plane on such short notice. It was a good plan, really. But enough small talk. It's time for me to beat you good and take those data items." He tossed a second duel disk towards Chazz who caught in and slipped it on.

"Are you going to go through with this, boss?" The Ojamas asked nervously. Chazz smiled. "Don't worry," he answered, "Im going to sweep the floor with this guy."

"And the name's Raytou, don't forget it."

"Duel!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Okay its been a while, something's definitely wrong. Im checking on them!" Alexis said, standing up.  
"You're right," Aster agreed he walked down the aisle to open the door but his hand met with the same barrier. Alexis had the same trouble. "How come we can't open the doors!?" She asked starting to panic. Alexis kicked and threw her body against the shield but it wouldn't budge. Aster or Jaden didn't have any luck either. "I don't know, maybe those guys somehow got in here and somehow put up these barriers and for some reason want to separate Zane, Atticus and Chazz from us!"

"Zane!" Alexis shouted. "Atticus! Can you hear me!" when no reply came she started yelling their names again until finally, after the third shout, she gave up.

"These things are sound proof, if something happened to them we would've known. Hell, they maybe pounding on the shields right now for all we know." Aster finally concluded. Alexis turned to him.

"So what are we going to do, we can't just stand here!"

Jaden made a fist. "Alexis is right! We have to find a way to break down these things. He kicked the nearby door but still, nothing happened."

Aster sighed and leaned against the wall crossing him arms. "Let's face it, we can't do anything. All we have to do is hope they're going to be alright."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I sacrifice my Armed Dragon LVL 5 for my LVL 7 dragon!" Chazz declared as his armored orange dragon appeared in a furry of light. It roared menacingly. "Go Armed Dragon LVL 7, and destroy his Alien Warrior!"

Raytou flinched as his monster was destroyed under the pressure of the flaming fist.

Raytou- 3000

Chazz- 4000

"And I end my turn," Chazz finished, currently satisfied at the damage he was able to inflict.

"Not bad," Raytou commented. "But you activated the effect of my Alien Warrior. Since your Armed Dragon is the one that destroyed it, it receives two Alien counters."

Chazz didn't expect this. "Alien counters?"

"Yeah, you'll see what they do later on… I summon my Alien Hunter in defense mode to hang out with my Alien Grey. I'll set a face-down and end my turn." A blueish armored lizard took place on his side of the field.

"That's it?" Chazz drew. _Ojama Yellow? If only had a different monster, I'll be able to wipe his field clean with my Armed Dragon. But I have Malevolent Nuzzler and I can equip it to Yellow and still wipe out his field._

"I summon my Ojama Yellow!" Chazz's first duel spirit appeared and grinned stupidly. "He may be nothing right now but I activate Malevolent Nuzzler to boost his attack points to 700. Now my Armed Dragon, attack his Alien Hunter!"

Raytou narrowed his eyes. "I activate my trap card! Crop Circles! By sacrificing my Alien Hunter and my Alien Gray, I can summon a level six monster from my deck." Chazz blinked. "What?"

Raytou pulled out his deck and quickly searched through before selecting a card. "I summon my Alien Mother!"

Chazz grinned. "Too bad! My Armed Dragon is still stronger! Destroy that monster." However, despite his confidence, Alien Mother fired a violet beam, which cleanly split and destroyed Armed Dragon.

Chazz cried out in pain as the shards from the battle cut his skin. "How can that be!? My monster was stronger!"

Chazz- 3900

Raytou- 3000

"Nope, apparently it wasn't. You're monster had two Alien tokens on it remember? So that means when it engages in battle, it loses 300 attack and defense points for each token it has. Oh and also…" A flash of light covered his field and the powerful dragon reappeared on Raytou's field.

Chazz's jaw dropped. "What?"

He explained, "Since Alien Mother technically destroyed your monster, it lets me take control of it just as long as it has an alien counter."

"Okay that is just screwed up," Chazz said pissed. Chazz's remaining monster trembled at the fact that it was face to face with two very large monsters. "I switch my Ojama to defense mode, place a face-down and end my turn."

"Well there's nothing much to except… I use my Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your one and only Trap Card."

Chazz grimaced as his card was blown away and shattered. "Go, Armed Dragon and destroy that pathetic little Ojama Yellow!"

"Boss, save meee!" It cried. "Sorry, can't." He frowned as his last monster was destroyed.

"Now I attack you directly with Alien Mother!" Raytou declared. Chazz felt stinging pain as the violet beam of energy passed through him. "Damn, this hurts!"

Chazz- 1500

Raytou- 3000

"Have you given up yet?" Raytou teased. "You're weaker than I thought."

That did it. "Okay!" Chazz fired up. "So what if you managed to take one and destroy one of my monsters and then take a bite from my lifepoints, but NO ONE calls me weak just like that!" He drew with fury.

"I activate Monster Reborn to special summon my Ojama Yellow from the grave! Then I activate Reckless Summon, and since I special summoned my Ojama Yellow, I can also summon Ojamas Green and Black! Now the Ojama Trio is on my field!"

Raytou seemed unimpressed. "So?"

"So, I can activate another spell card! Ojama Delta Hurricane! With this card I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field!"

"What no!" Raytou braced himself as the two monsters roared and shattered under a powerful twister of wind. "Ugh!"

The Ojamas returned to their position, smiling proudly. "That's weak for you! I set a face down and end my turn."

Raytou drew. "Well I guess there's nothing much I can do besides this. I summon Flying Saucer Muusik'i. I end my turn."

"Now its pretty boring…" Chazz commented. "But I can do this! I activate polymerization from my hand to fuse my three Ojamas! Say hello to Ojama King!" One of Chazz's best cards appeared. No attack but a high defense.

"And due to Ojama King's special effect, three or your monster zones are classified as occupied!"

Raytou cursed. "Is that all you have?" he challenged.

"Not really I activate card destruction so now we have to discard our hands and draw a new one," Chazz answered, the two drew their new cards. "Your turn."

"Oh, you're going to regret you did that, you're in for it now! I activate my Flying Saucer's effect! Instead of drawing a normal card, I can search through my deck for an Alien Monster! And I think I'll choose another one of my Alien Hunters! I summon it!" The same-looking blue lizard appeared. "And I sacrifice them both to summon this! Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, rise!"

Chazz took a step back as something really big, and really ugly alien monster appeared on the opposite side of the field.

"I think it's time for me to get rid of that monster! I activate my quick spell, Stop Defense!" He saw the horror on Chazz's face. "Yeah, stuff like this can be a pain. Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, attack and destroy that Ojama King!" The alien roared, gathering an orb of white energy and fired it at Chazz's defense.

"Aw, it looks like I win!" Raytou said smugly at the smoke that was hiding Chazz and his now bare field. However the smoke cleared and Raytou gasped. He was still standing, revealing a trap card!

_I… can barely stand… _Chazz thought in dismay. "I activate my trap, Numinous Healer…" _Too close…_

"What!?" He exclaimed. "But still, even with that you should've lost!"

Chazz shook his head. "No since I had another Numinous Healer I discarded earlier from Card destruction, my lifepoints were boosted to 3000, so Im still here."

Chazz- 400

Raytou- 3000

"Okay, you survived by a scratch, so what? I'll just defeat you next turn. I end."

_He's right, I don't have any moves left, no more strategies… _He slowly began to close his eyes in exhaustion until he heard a voice.

"_If you give up now, you'll die. Just survive for this one turn and I'll take care of the rest. Now draw!"_

_What, I have another duel spirit? _Chazz looked at his deck which began to glow faintly. He drew. Chazz's eyes widened, it was his Data Guardian! Finally it decided to help him win this duel. _"Told you so, now use me wisely and I'll guarantee you victory." _The name appeared across the top of the Stone-crystal reptile.

"I summon my Data Guardian- Tentoros! (Level 4 1000/1000). Now he has a nice effect. By sacrificing him, I can summon any amount of monsters from your graveyard with the same name and these monsters can attack your life points directly just as long as they're level 4 or lower!"

Tentoros was consumed in a ring of green light before Chazz bared a fist and declared. "I'll choose your two Alien Hunters from earlier!"

Fear entered Raytou's eyes. "How could you have drawn that thing at the last moment!"

"Because I know how to duel unlike some people! Go Alien Hunters and attack his lifepoints directly."

He screamed as two orb spears were slashed through him, There was an explosion bringing up debris and smoke as the holograms faded.

Chazz grinned, satisfied at his victory. The smoke cleared and Raytou was no where to be seen. A shiny gold coin laid where he once stood. Chazz's legs wobbled as he walked over and picked up the coin. Besides it was a glossy silver key. He picked it up. "I wonder what this is for…?"

He made his way back and opened the door with difficulty. Before he knew it Alexis ran over and hugged him in relief. "Oh my god, Chazz! You look like you've been through a jungle." He blushed.

"I just took care of one of those guys. But this key… And Zane and Atticus. Ugh…" He stumbled again. Suddenly the door on the opposite side slammed open.

"Finally I got this thing opened!" Atticus said. He looked at Chazz. "Hey, do you have that special bomb key? We need it or this thing's going to blow up in twenty minutes."

"Bomb?" He didn't wait for the answer but threw the key which Atticus caught. "And I really hope you know how to pilot a plane Chazz, our pilots are missing and Zane's angsting in there."

Chazz groaned, he's just been through a corruption duel and know he has to fly his own jet!? "Yeah sure," he answered and made his way into the pilot's compartment.

Aster stared after him. "Poor guy, he's probably been through a lot. We should go in there and make sure everything turns out right…" The two agreed and followed after the lumbering Chazz.

-X-

And yup, I did get the chapter title from my other story xD Bleach GX, read and review if you haven't already. And FINALLY I wrote a duel with No made up cards or cheating (well that I can see, correct me if Im wrong) Except the data guardian of course.

Data Guardian- Tentoros  
Level 4  
1000/1000  
Earth/Reptile  
You can tribute this card to take control of any amount of monsters in your opponent's graveyard with the same name. These cards can attack your opponent's lifepoints directly as long as they are level 4 or lower.


	8. Casualties

**And now for a "real dueling-less" chapter, enjoy 8D**

**-X-**

**Chapter 8**

**Casualties**

It was a summer's evening. Cloudless skies stretched far off into nowhere. Shieldless rays beat down on his bright blue head.

_Syrus was merely nine years old, yet his parents didn't pay much mind to him. Occasionally they talked to him, encouraged him, maybe even pity him. But all of the desired feelings and attention were focused on _him. _He knew better, but deep down he couldn't help but feel a deep pit of envy._

_He tapped his heel against the wooden face of his back porch. His chin rested in his palms as he stared, thinking deeply. What if he was just as talented as Zane? What if his older brother was the more useless one? Syrus frowned. He didn't hate his brother; it was more of a feeling of pressure and fear. When will he shatter under it all?_

_The porch creaked awfully as someone stepped outside to join him. He didn't bother to turn around and see whom it was. It might have started a conversation, and frankly he was not in the mood. _

_Zane knelt beside him holding a tray laden with cookies. He looked at him. "Mom just got them out of the oven. She wants you to have some since you're not really eating anything." His voice was a little flat._

_Syrus grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth. He muttered an inaudible "thanks". Zane sighed and set the tray down. He took a seat on the porch step right besides his little brother.  
Syrus finished his morsel and said, "So you're not continuing prep school this year?" Zane nodded.  
"Yeah, I don't need to. Im going to Duel Academy a couple years from now." Syrus grimaced. "Of course… How could've forgot."  
Zane noticed the hint of distaste in the bright bluenette's voice. "You don't want me to go?" It puzzled him. Normally Syrus wouldn't care about his affairs.  
"Who said that?" Syrus' voice raised a notch as if Zane had offended him._

"_It's obvious." Zane answered dryly.  
Syrus stopped himself from shouting a smart retort. "Well it's not that. I…"  
Zane raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"_

Syrus quickly looked down, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "W-why did you have to seal that card…?" Zane stopped looking at his. Instead, he moved his gaze forward.  
"I gave you that card, hoping that you would know how to use it. It turned out that you didn't." When Syrus said nothing, he continued.

"_When you're confident that you can use Powerbond's effect wisely, I automatically give you permission to unseal it. Regardless if Im present or not." He sat up and turned and left._

_Syrus grabbed a now cold cookie and stuffed it in his mouth. _

Present day Syrus slowly opened his eyes. His back was flat against cold ground.  
_I remember that day… _He thought. His glasses were slightly foggy, so he grabbed them and polished the lens on his jacket. That's when he noticed a Duel disk was on his arm.

"What?" He lifted his respective arm. He seemed to be in the middle of a deserted, yet nice-looking neighborhood. Just a couple yards from his was a slightly open iron gate of a large and well-taken care of house. The windows were curtained but curiosity got the best of him.

The gates were pushed open without a sound and he walked up the cobbled path. Syrus reached the front door, and knocked. However, before his fist touched the door he realized something.

I know this place… It's familiar.

He knocked. No response but the door opened just a pinch. Syrus pushed it open wide enough for his small body to fit through. He gasped. The interior looked nothing like how the outside had hinted.

It had some sort of dark aura hanging in the air. Walls were patched with paint less spots. Whatever furniture was left was broken and laying on their sides. Carpet had old blood stains and dirty smudges while cobwebs hung from any place possible, not just the corners. A musty smell immediately reached his nostrils. It seemed it was a death site for someone.

The floorboards squeaked as Syrus stepped over them. There was a window to the far end that was uncovered and cracked, giving the miserable building some shred of daylight. Classic oil paintings adorned the walls. Some had torn canvases. Syrus gazed around. He didn't recall any of this yet it still felt so familiar.

He forced open the old back screen door. Dust and debris fell from the top rail as he finally managed to get the thing out of the way. The yard was nothing but dirt and yellow grass. A single gravestone laid in the middle of it all. Syrus flinched. Why was he going to check out someone that was dead? Why was he here in the first place?

Despite his self-nagging, he walked forward and observed the tombstone. Most of its surface was dusty or worn away. However, the last name was visible.

Truesdale 

Syrus paled. "Zane, he couldn't of…" He frantically dusted away at the other parts.

He was right, Zane wasn't dead.

_**He **_was dead.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He struggled to keep awake but his surroundings kept swaying until he finally fell to one side. Jaden quickly caught him.

"Chazz, you're really tired. Let Aster take over from now." He insisted. Chazz wasn't listening though, his onyx eyes were closed and faint snores could be heard coming through his mouth.  
"Alright, I'll take care of the rest." The silver-haired teen took the controls. "Tell the others we'll be there soon."

Jaden nodded and left.

When he heard the door close behind him, Aster sat back with a huff.

"Darn, we're lucky to have everyone intact with their keys and cards… But this is a life and death situation. What are these people after…?" He rested his eyes and massaged his temples. True, it was starting to turn into a heavier burden than before.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hey everyone! Aster says we'll be there pretty soon." Jaden said happily, landing himself in a seat next to Atticus.  
"About time," Atticus voiced out. "We've been in the air for several hours now. Flying isn't my thing."

Alexis let out an exasperated sigh. She was gazing out at the window. There were few clouds that could be seen. "Oh don't start, Atticus. It's a nice view outside." She was right, mountains were visible. Plains and plateaus rose high, green grass and lush trees littered all over the place.

Zane looked out his window. He admitted, ever since Syrus was gone he didn't really think that wisely, or maybe even observed what was around him.  
_We're going to save his for sure, why am I worrying?_

"Yeah, it's a nice view."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This is a fake." Syrus told himself over and over again. The tombstone was fake, everything wasn't real. Yet he still couldn't help but feel this dreading feeling.

"Where am I?" He took a step back, and as he did so he heard a large crack and looked behind him. The wall had split, revealing a gaping hole. On instinct, Syrus raised his duel disk.

It seemed that whatever was inside the darkness saw the sudden movement as a threat and lashed out.

He threw himself to the side, barely avoiding a horrid monster's attack. It had a sickly purple, reptilian face with rotten patches and exposed tissues. The zombie dragon roared, filling the air with a musty smell.

The gas paralyzed the trembling Syrus.

_I can't move. I can't move!_

He struggled to draw at least one card from his deck.

It was in vain. The dragon quickly saw its advantage and dove, ready to gore into him.

But luckily, a golden blast of energy interrupted the two and Syrus was thrown back, against the tombstone. He groaned in pain and struggled to see who had attacked as the blinding light faded away.

The zombie dragon was lying on the ground, smoking in various areas before it shattered and left no trace. To the side was a serpentine, metallic dragon. Its mouth was smoking from the fresh attack.

And its master was…

"Zane!?" Syrus gasped with surprise. He looked up at the taller Truesdale who had walked over to him and held out a hand.  
Puzzled, Syrus took it and he helped him up.  
"Zane… What're you doing here?" His brother looked slightly different. A little younger, maybe because his eyes were a little wider and bright, while he was actually _smiling_.

"Same way you did, I guess." He answered.

Syrus bit his lip. "They captured you guys too?"  
Zane shook his head. "No, only me it seems."

"How?"

"Long story, I'll explain later. Now let's get out of here, its dangerous." He grabbed his wrist but Syrus tugged back. When Zane turned around to question him, Syrus was pointing at the tombstone.

"What's with that?" he asked.

The older brother narrowed his eyes which were filled with anger, sadness, longing?

"It's nothing, we're in a different world. Im not sure what but we can't trust anything here." With that he quickly paced forward. Syrus spared the tombstone one last glance before following.

The scenery had changed completely when they left the house. Day turned to night. The houses had vanished and were replaced by endless dunes of white sand. The desert scenery came complete with powerful gales, ridden with sand and dust.

"Mind explaining now?" Syrus said, tugging against the winds.  
"Right now's not a good time, we're too occupied with getting through this mess. And I've already used up a lot of my energy." Syrus nodded.

But how did someone like Zane, be the only one captured along with Syrus? What was going on?

He was too busy theorizing before he could realize his brother had vanished.

"Zane?" He called out loudly, trying to get his voice over the howling.

No answer, he looked around his surroundings. No trace of his big brother.

_Where did he go?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shiyo lay, panting for dear life on the ground. Her cards were scattered all around her. Yet, she clutched one last card in her hand. It couldn't help her now. Her lifepoints were at zero. She accepted the game. And now in a matter of minutes, she was going to die.

The dominant figure, probably the same one Alexis had encountered and the one that had took Syrus towered over her flat form.

"That took no effort at all…" He hissed. Dark green eyes blazing.

"Bastard…" Shiyo growled. He stepped on her fingers and forced her to relinquish her grip on the blank card key. He reached down and picked it up. A sadistic smirk on his face.

"I don't believe this… You _traitor."_ Her vision was flickering.

Anguish said something, but Shiyo had already died before she could here whatever it was.

"What a pity." He mused.

-X-

**Sorry for the slightly short update peeps. Im starting school on the 13****th**** and stuff so that means updates will come slower. But I'll try my best if I can fit a couple of updates for my incomplete fanfictions.**

**Stay tuned! X3**

Yeah.. short chapties. urgh...


	9. Distant End

**Chapter 9  
Distant End**

She couldn't see or make out her surroundings. Red flames licked at her ankles and a partial wall of fire divided her view from one person in front of her. The shadow of her duel monster floated silently besides her, poised for attack at her unknown enemy.

Alexis raised her hand in signal of attack; her monster spread its wings wide and aimed with what seemed like some sort of javelin.  
Suddenly the flames died down slightly, revealing the face she had always longed to see. At this, the monster froze in mid action, unsure of what to do since its master was caught between two choices.

The stinging heat fared no better; the air waved almost distorting everything that was caught between its flames.

Zane's eyes were lit with a sinister glow, a sick grin across his face. _  
"Are you going to kill me, Alexis?"_

"_Alexis! __**Alexis!**__" _She awoke with a sharp start to find Zane shaking her shoulder. He stopped the moment she opened her glazed brown eyes.  
His face seemed so reassuring, yet it frightened, and definitely, confused her. A few seconds ago, she was just about to defeat him in a duel. A corruption duel? It wouldn't make sense. It must've been all the stress that was left over from the days before.

"Sorry for waking you now, but we're here." Alexis suddenly felt a little colder as Zane took his hand off from her shoulder.

"No it's okay, I shouldn't have been dozing at a time like this." She said a little quietly. Her surroundings seemed so alien and a deep feeling of paranoia started spreading from deep inside.

"You were moaning and shifting a lot in your sleep, are you alright?" His face was full of concern. Alexis forced a shaky smile.

"I'm fine, Zane. I can't really be Sleeping Beauty when an entire organization are after our lives."

Their conversation was interrupted when Jaden stuck his head in between them from the seat behind. "Hey guys! I'm not riding in a plane for twelve hours ever again! Chazz kept throwing up in the bathroom for some reason. I though he was used to a plane. I mean it's technically HIS jet. Well anyways, I couldn't sleep that much. There's no food and I've been sitting so long that my pants are wedged up-"

"We don't like flying either, Jaden." Zane said flatly. Alexis giggled, trying to get that nagging feeling away from her.

Aster joined them. "You missed a lot of scenery, Alexis. There were the pyramids and countless piles of ancient ruins. I'm not really interested in them myself seeing as they're pretty much old, dead, and forgotten. You may though."

"I didn't pay much attention to them." Zane stated spontaneously. It was unusual of him to make such unnecessary statements.

Aster shot him a quick glare before walking off.

Alexis felt uneasy at this sudden bitterness between the two. She looked towards him for an explanation. "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." The tone of his voice meant an end to a conversation.

She didn't question him again. As she turned her head to face forward, she caught a glimpse of Atticus' annoyed face.

_What am I missing here?_

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

When they entered the busy airport, no one noticed Atticus grab the back of Zane's collar and drag him to a place away from the general crowd.

"Look, I know you're kind of rash because of Aster coming in and out checking on Alexis, but you can't act so cold in front of her!"

Zane, behind his stoic expression, couldn't help but feel a little startled that Atticus was lecturing him. Though, he still felt like his privacy was being invaded. If it weren't for the countless times in the past that his life was being publicized even against his will, he would've snapped back at his best friend.

"I'm not upset with her. It's that ass I'm ticked with." Despite his choice of words, his tone was calm.

That didn't fool Atticus.

"You're losing your cool. This isn't the best time either. Remember the last time you decided to let yourself snap?"

Zane didn't need reminding and remained silent. Atticus went on.

"You saw Alexis while she was sleeping. You were right besides her. She's _stressed_, Zane. Having her boyfriend being a morbid idiot won't help her spirits. Ever since, you've been having some type of recluse complex."

As much as he didn't like it, Zane knew Atticus was right; or at least had a good point and let down his defenses.

"Yeah, fine. I'll deal with Aster for now since we're on the same side."

Atticus seemed satisfied. "Well it's good you don't need much convincing." He grinned, turning back into that fun-loving idiot he knew. "Let's go back. We shouldn't split up."

Zane nodded and they both walked out into the open.

Alexis was the first to spot them.

"Where the hell were you guys!? We almost started worrying."

"_Almost?"_ Atticus laughed.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Fine, we WERE worried about you two! Please don't do that again." She looked pleadingly up at Zane who looked away, feeling a little guilty.

"Sorry," he muttered.

The rest came trotting over. Jaden was sporting a travel backpack. Aster lowered his voice a little as he told the rest of his plan.

"What's left of the site's really dangerous and tourists aren't allowed. Plus it's practically in the middle of the desert. It'll be really suspicious if a big group like us was wandering around in the desert. Even if I already pin pointed the exact location."

"Are you suggesting we split up?" Zane demanded. He didn't like the idea at all.

"Actually I am," Aster answered. "It's for the better."

"I didn't like the idea at first," Chazz said. "But we'll have to do it."

Jaden nodded, serious. "You, me, and Aster will go out there Chazz will stay here with Alexis and Atticus."

Zane didn't know what to say. He was already indirectly rude to Alexis earlier, and now he had to leave her?

He opened his mouth to try and object but before is words came out, he realized he was out numbered. He looked at Atticus who gave him "go on. I can watch over her."

_You better…_

"Alright. So we have all emergency provisions?" Zane asked looking at Jaden's backpack.

"Yeah, bottles of water, a knife. Aster has the GPS."

Aster turned to the three who were staying behind. "You guys stay here in the airport no matter what, okay?"

"Okay," they said simultaneously.

Alexis gave Zane a quick kiss. "Be careful, Zane."

"I will, now you watch out for yourself. I won't forgive myself if anything happens."

Alexis smiled in appreciation.

Then the two groups parted.

"I hope they're going to be alright." Alexis thought out loud.

Chazz was just about to offer his comfort but Atticus beat him to it.

Atticus reassured his little sister. "They will. You should know Zane. He's a tough guy. And Jaden and Aster? They're tough too."

She sat down on a nearby and conveniently empty bench. Her Data key dangled around her neck.

Then the worst happened.

Alexis gasped loudly, sharply, and suddenly as the key's cord snapped by force. She got up immediately and chased after the small figure that was running away, fast.

Increasingly behind her, Atticus and Chazz looked questioningly at her shrinking figure. But there was no time to explain.

"Get back here! That isn't a toy!" Alexis shouted as she shoved a woman and other people out of her way.

The boy was still in her sight thankfully but she couldn't catch up. Strangely, they were even. Then suddenly he made a sharp turn and Alexis followed.

Then she heard fast footsteps behind her and heard Atticus' voice. "What are you doing, Alexis!?"

"My Data key! That little brat stole it." She panted, pointing ahead of her and trying to quicken up her pace.

The two didn't notice the walls at their sides were turning darker and darker, as if they were disappearing. So did the figure of the thief.

Noticing something was wrong; Alexis stopped and looked behind her. Atticus was still there. Solid as ever.

Then everything vanished.

The key that was just suspended in midair fell and Alexis ran forward on non-existing ground to catch it.

The moment she wrapped her fingers around the cold silver screen, gravity took its toll and she could hear nothing but her own screaming.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Zane-you-drive-terribly." Aster said, his voice distorting over the bumpy ground. There were no roads and they were now miles away from modern civilization.

"I'm-sorry-but-at-least-I-have-my-license." Zane said between gritted teeth. Both of his hands were on the steering wheel. Their duel disks were at the back of the jeep.

Zane looked at the GPS and the road smoothed. "Since we're already between the Euphrates and Tigris, we won't have to cross any water, that's great."

"Hey, Zane," Jaden said, "The ancient ruins are around here somewhere and it's in the Mediterranean. And then the note said look at the location below. The tunnels are underground, do you think…?"

"That the caved in tunnels are supposed to be the place where we're supposed to meet? Damn, you're actually kind of smart Jaden."  
Suddenly, Zane's cell phone rang.

"Oh what the hell now?" With one hand, he pulled out and flipped open his phone.

He couldn't hear a thing over the heavy rumbling. He switched it on to speaker.

It was Pegasus.

"Zane! Is everyone together!?" The other two were quiet.

"No. We had to split up to-"

"You fool! Do you know what happened!?"

This filled Zane with panic. Had the rest already been harmed?

"No, what happened?"

"You're manager's dead. Shiyo's dead."

Despite the harsh sunset, they all turned cold. Pegasus continued. "You know what this means. If even one Data key falls to the wrong hands the organization can take dire actions to their plans immediately! You must not let them do that. I repeat-" His voice flickered before dying out.

"We lost signal!" Zane said angrily.

"She's… dead?" Jaden asked, his eyes wide. He thought they were winning. He thought that no one was in any current danger. Yet one of their own had already fallen.  
"This is not good, we have to turn back." Zane was just about to jerk his hand on the wheel but Aster stopped him.

"They're in the airport, nothing can happen to them there! It's us we should worry about, for all we know this can be a trap. A deadly one too."

Zane fumed even though he knew Aster was right. His mind felt clouded and we suggesting and doing all the wrong things. What was wrong with him?

_Alexis, you better be okay!_

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Alexis braced herself as she hit solid ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her. Atticus was a few yards away from her. He forced himself up and rubbed his head.

"Ow… Damn. Where are we?"

Alexis was thinking the same thing and looked around above her. There was a high ceiling. So high, it faded off into the darkness. Columns were half submerged in walls made of what seemed to be red gold.

_Orichalcum?_ Alexis thought. She partially recognized it from the illustrations and descriptions she had found during her past studies.

Yet it all seemed so oddly familiar to her.

A voice made her snap her attention back to whatever was in front of them.

This time she could recognize it. The same masked voice from the night several days ago. "Sorry to give you such a hard landing, but there was no other way."

"Anguish," she snarled. Atticus looked at her. "You know him?"

"I see you know my name, well at least my alias. May I ask you how?"

Alexis stared hard at his covered face. The truth was… She didn't know how. She just did.

"I… don't know."

Anguish smirked and snapped his fingers. A duel disk suddenly materialized on each of their arms.

"Ah wow," Atticus blinked staring at his arm. "What do you want us to do?"

"You and your sister against me." He said simply.

Alexis asked, "What? Two against one? That isn't really fair."

"This is a matter of life and death. You should know this by now. Do you still care about what's fair, and what's not?" Anguish replied, his voice rising.

"Well this is your own mistake, I already know what cards you use!" Alexis stated, a little triumphant.

Anguish laughed. "Maybe, but something like that doesn't matter. That's a skill of a duelist."

"Whatever," Atticus said, he was still puzzled on how his sister knew this guy.

"Duel!" The three shouted drawing their cards.

"I summon Cyber Tutu in attack mode and set a facedown." Alexis declared. Her monster appeared in a flash of violet light.

"My turn," Anguish said. Alexis and Atticus noticed that he didn't draw a card. That meant he was about to declare an attack.

They were partially wrong.

"I activate Polymerization from my hand to fuse my two Cyber Dragons!" The serpentine silver creatures vanished in a flash of cyan light before having a larger, two-headed machine to replace them.

"Behold, Cyber Twin Dragon!" Anguish shouted.

The two didn't expect this. "What the fuck? Only Zane uses those monsters!"

Anguish didn't reply but declared his attack. "It's a shame that one of you is already going to fall. Cyber Twin Dragon, use both of your attacks on Atticus!" He pointed towards the older one.

The silver heads obeyed and fired broad beams of blue light.

"I activate Stray Lambs!" Alexis shouted quickly. Two small balls of fluff appeared on Atticus' side of the field. Both of them were destroyed as the beams hit them instead of him.

Alexis breathed in deeply. "You owe me, big bro. Make your turn count."

"Thanks sis!" He drew. "I summon Pitch-black Warwolf and sacrifice it for my Manticore of Darkness. I set two facedowns and end my turn. Now its up to you, Alexis!"

She nodded. "With Cyber Tutu's effect, I can attack you directly! Go!"

He barely flinched as the pink foot collided with his shoulder and a chunk of his lifepoints was taken away.

Anguish- 3000

Alexis- 4000

Atticus- 4000

"I end."

"That was nothing. Such a waste of a turn. Cyber Twin Dragon, Attack Alexis!"

Two more streaks of energy exploded on her side of the field.

When the smoke cleared, the field was emptied, yet Alexis still stood.

"I activated Sudden Change in Battle Formation! With this I can redirect one of your attacks to my Manticore of Darkness."

"You should still be missing lifepoints!" Anguish argued. "And my dragon should still be on the field."

Atticus shook his head. "I also activated my trap card, Reinforcements. This gave my Manticore 500 more attack points, making it evenly matched for your dragon." He looked at Alexis. A frown on his face. Despite his counter move, she still took a lot of damage. He looked soon enough to notice 2nd degree burns healing from her skin.

"T-thanks, Atti'. It helped me a lot." She smiled.

Anguish- 3000

Atticus- 4000

Alexis- 2200

"Well it seems you didn't evade my attack completely. I place two face downs and end my turn."

"Now I didn't really have to sacrifice much." Atticus said, drawing a card. "I summon my Alligator Sword! With my Manticore of Darkness' effect, I can send it to the graveyard to resummon my Manticore!"

Now attack his lifepoints directly!"

Atticus' monster let out a savage roar, letting out a thick tongue of flames. The golden light from the attack reflected brilliantly on the walls.

Alexis held back a gasp. Writings could now be seen. But before she can get a proper look, the fire collided with Anguish and the light was extinguished.

He grunted, his garments were smoking tremendously. Some parts were even burned off. Alexis grinned. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.

Anguish- 700

Atticus- 4000

Alexis- 2200

"Not bad," he commented. He drew. "I use my Monster Reincarnation and summon one of my Cyber Dragons. That'll be all."

'Draw!" Alexis shouted. Her eyes widened as she realized it was her Data Guardian. The blank areas were still blank. She inserted it into her hand. "I'll use my own Polymerization to fuse Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber. So come out, Cyber Blader!"

A whirlwind circled the field before one of Alexis' strongest monsters appeared on the field.

"I equip her with Legendary Sword to boost her attack. Now go destroy that Cyber Dragon!"

Cyber Blader obeyed and with speed, it raised its arm in attack. However, Anguish countered.

"I activate my Attack Reflector Unit to sacrifice my Cyber Dragon for my Cyber Barrier Dragon." In a flash of green light, a dragon with a wide shield around its head appeared. "Next, I activate its effect to block your attack!"

Green light repelled the incoming attack, sending her monster back to her side of the field. "So close," she breathed. She turned to Atticus. "We can't attack with that dragon on the field."

"I end my turn."

Atticus thought hard. He had faced this deck many times, and lost many times. This was assumingly Zane's same deck. Yet he couldn't figure out a decent strategy?

_Though I wonder… I thought Zane's cards were one of a kind._

**-X-**

FINALLY I updated. Sorry for SUCH the long wait. The problem is that I have school now and it's a pain. Guess you all knew that.

Ummm No data cards were activated yet. Ho hum.


	10. Love dulls your Blade

**Chapter 10**

**Love Dulls Your Blade**

"Atticus, get back here!" Alexis cried, running as fast as her petit legs would let her. Atticus only snickered in a mischievous way, shaking the white stuffed tiger clutched tightly in his hand. He kept waving it as he ran, enraging his little sister even more.  
"Atticus!" Alexis screamed again. Finally the excessive running was too much for her and she slowed down. 

Atticus slowed down too, but he was a safe distance away from her.  
"Why are you so mean, brother!?" Alexis whined.

_Atticus grinned, unfazed by his sister's simple choice of words. "You're just so slow, Alexis! Come on! If you don't catch me, then I'm keeping Mr. Whitey!"_

_Alexis sniffed. "That's not fair! You're older than me, so you can run faster!"  
He sighed. "Oh gosh, you're such a crybaby, Alexis."_

_That hit a nerve, Alexis started running again. Atticus did the same, and she couldn't catch up to him._

- - -

"I sacrifice my Barrier Dragon."

Alexis and Atticus' eyes widened. What was he thinking? He already had a strong line of defense, and he had already pushed them into the corner, so, what was he planning?

"To activate my spell card: Infinite Cyberchain Virus." His dragon was consumed and shattered in a ring of green light.  
"I've never heard of it," Atticus said. Alexis held her question. She was hoping that her brother would've been able to enlighten her.  
"Well, I'm going to explain," Anguish stated stoically. "You won't like it's effect though. Each of you will receive three Cyber Detonator Tokens. Don't worry, they won't take up any of your monster zones, nor mine, however-" He snapped him fingers and the shards from his former monster quickly flew towards the two, forming into several, fairly large, metallized insectoids which latched themselves onto them.

"What the-" Alexis tugged on one, which was attached to her side. The two others gripped onto her shoulder and shin. No matter how hard she pulled, she was only hurting herself; she looked towards Atticus and he was in same position.

"What are these things!?" He demanded.

"They're bombs," Anguish replied simply. Alexis and Atticus froze.

"What… Are you planning?" Alexis said, she wasn't comfortable by the fact that there were multiple bombs permanently attached to her body.

Alexis jerked with fear as she saw his mouth grin sadistically.

"It's been a long while…" He said slowly. "Pain… I'll give it to you, then finally-" he stopped suddenly, as if his voice was caught in his throat. Anguish swayed slightly and moved his foot to regain his balance. Alexis and Atticus didn't notice anything.

She was feeling that same fearful aura she had encountered the first time she met their opponent. Alexis struggled to crane her head to look at her brother.

Atticus was kneeling on the floor, doubled over. At the sight of seeing her older brother tremble under the weight of dread, sadness, and fear, she felt worse.  
"A-Atty…" Alexis pleaded. That seemed to do the trick, Atticus snapped out of it almost immediately and forced himself back on his feet.

"I-I draw…" he looked at his new card.

_Yo_.

The brunette's eyes widened. "Y-you! Thank goodness."

Eh, I wasn't going to abandon you, it would be a hell lot of trouble for me if any of you died, Atticus. Sorry though, you can't use me just yet. You lack the current requirements. Don't worry though, it'll come around. Just believe.

The card fell silent and Atticus looked up determined. He stopped shivering. "Time I make a difference in this duel! I play the field spell, Raging Firelands." He swiped the spell into his field slot and immediately the surroundings began to morph.

Alexis clutched her eyes. She didn't notice the ground crack around her with bright, golden lava bubbling. Pits randomly shot fire out of their mouths.

Atticus began to explain the effect. "This field boosts my beast and beast-warriors attack and defense by 800 points, but every turn I have to give up 700 lifepoints." He grimaced as flames licked away a portion of his lifepoints.

"And this also means I get to attack your lifepoints directly. It's time to win this!" He was about to declare the attack when-

_bang_

It happened too fast, too suddenly. His eyes were widened considerably. Blood sprayed from his shoulder as he fell back.

_Atticus! Are you okay?_

He gasped in pain as he clutched his open wound. It closed slightly, yet blood still dripped steadily from it.

Anguish laughed as Alexis rushed over to help her brother. "Every time any of us deals damage to another player, a random person with the Cyberchain tokens would explode and instead of the target taking the damage, it would be the respective person. Surprising, huh?"

Anguish- 700

Atticus- 100

Alexis- 2200

Atticus forced himself up again. "I'm fine Alexis, it's your turn now."

Alexis looked desperately as her hand. Her Data Guardian wasn't responding at all. There wasn't anything she could do and if she attacked with Cyber Blader again, she or Atticus would be reduced to nothing, and then they'd lose a Data Key.

"I pass this turn."

- - - - - - - - - -

"I don't feel very comfortable with this…" Jaden said. It's been ten minutes since the three entered underground though a partially hidden trap door. He was right behind Aster while Zane was leading the way. The air smelled terrible, and it was extremely hard to see. Several times, one of them stumbled over a hole or lump in the ground. This time, Jaden tripped backwards (somehow) and grabbed the red walls for support.

It cracked quickly and a dry, rotted corpse fell through, dangling by the torso from above. Jaden screamed in panic. Zane however, kicked it aside.

"We might be in some sort of catacomb… Jaden be more careful," he said.

"Y-yeah sure." He didn't spare the skeleton a second glance before trudging on with the flashlight.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Syrus was ready to collapse from all the dust he inhaled until he saw a small village in sight. Though there was something wrong. Its was set in flames and the roaring winds weren't helping at all.

Syrus panicked. "Oh man! Uhh… I summon Rescueroid! Go and put out that fire!" He felt awkward saying it, but now wasn't the time to dwell over it.

It was some time when his monster managed to extinguish the fire completely. When the image of the large vehicle monster faded, Syrus ran forward to see what had happened. "Hello? Is everyone alright?"  
A couple seconds passed then ragged villagers crept from behind buildings and rubble.

An Elderly man made his way up to him. Syrus began to feel nervous that several people were surrounding him in a circle.  
"Thank you, young traveler for saving our village. May we know your name?"

Syrus didn't expect it. "I-er… I'm Syrus… Truesdale." Murmurs ran through the crowd. Now he felt even more uncomfortable.

The old man asked, "Truesdale is it? Is your brother Zane Truesdale?"

Syrus flinched at hearing the name. For some reason the image of his tombstone flashed in his mind. "Yes he is. Why?"

More murmurs in the crowd. The elder replied, "Beware outsider, stay away from that man. He's evil, being near him or even looking for him would bring you trouble. Please be warned. My name is Sage, and pay heed to my words."

Syrus looked greatly confused. "Wait, what're you talking about? You can't say something like that about my brother!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw people shaking their heads in disapproval. "He's not evil at all! He's a really good person…" he tried to argue.

"We can't convince you otherwise, but it's for your own sake. I'm sorry Traveler Truesdale, we don't have anything in this now-wrecked place. There's a larger town not so far from here, but I doubt you're interested in that. We can tell you're an outsider from this world."

Syrus scratched his head. Seeing that he's supposed to be dead and that monsters were physically real, chances were, he was indeed in a different world, or dimension, or something. "Yeah I guess."

Sage nodded. "I thought so, there will be a great war that would involve two completely different worlds. It's best that you go back to your own."

"How exactly?"

"There are six gates scattered everywhere. Any one of them can take you back home, but unless you have a true intention, most likely you'll be warped to a different reality. If that happens there'll be an extremely thin chance that you'll ever find your own reality."

Syrus shivered, he didn't deal well with these types of situations. "Er, okay. Thanks. Can you point me in the right direction? And also, can you tell me how you know Zane?"

Before Sage could respond, a single voice called from the crowd. "He's a tyrant emperor! He wants to destroy us all. If he lives, the war will come to pass."

The bluenette didn't believe it at all. Zane isn't like that at all. Besides, he's helping guard six Data Keys, which have the potential to jeopardize existence itself. The man opened his mouth to add more but the elder raised his hand to silence him.

"I apologize for the sudden outburst, but yes, it's true. Your brother does have a tainted soul. You'd best go your own way and seek out one of the gates. The nearest one is east from here, you came here from the west. Just follow the mountains, you can't miss the gate."

Syrus decided not to question the issue about his brother anymore and thanked the old man for his help.

It took him almost an hour before the village disappeared from view. Syrus knew what he had to do. He wasn't leaving this freaky world without his brother.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Alexis screamed for the second time. She couldn't take the pain anymore. A token exploded and she was almost out of lifepoints. Her side was bleeding tremendously and the wound wouldn't close at all. Since she couldn't stand at all, Alexis forced her elbow to support herself. Still her Data Guardian wasn't responding at all.  
"Atty.. I-it's your turn…" Her voice was shaking with pain. Through a slit in her clenched eyes, Alexis looked despairingly at the Cyber End Dragon that just attacked her.

Anguish- 700

Atticus- 100

Alexis- 300

Atticus turned his head away from his suffering sister. It hurt him to see her like this. _I told Zane that I was going to take care of her! And look what I'm doing now, I can't even win this duel for her. Damn it. What should I do? _He looked down at his own Data Guardian as if it would give him advice.

The next thing he knew, Atticus was reading the name. _  
I'm sorry, Atticus. There's only one thing I can do for you now. I will save your sister for you but there will be a great price. Her own Data Card is failing her in this duel._

Atticus nodded, his eyes closed. _Ah, yeah I know the price I'll have to pay, just don't let my baby sis die!_

Immediately, the card felt warm in his hand as he raised it. His eyes glowed with newfound energy.

"I summon Data Guardian- Gisei!" The already lava-filled ground cracked open to reveal a great black dragon. Glowing veins of fire outline its wings and claws. Gisei's eyes glowed with flaming fury as red and black aura leaked from its glinting skin.

Atticus closed his own eyes to remember something.

He continued to run with the stuffed tiger, well until someone else stuck out his foot and he fell over.  
"Ouch! What was that for?" He looked up only to see Zane staring down at him, in disapproval of course.

"_You shouldn't pick on your sibling like that," he said. Atticus pouted. "Well you're the one to talk!" He surrendered the darn tiger to his friend._

_Zane handed it to Alexis who muttered a shy 'thanks'. Atticus dusted himself and got up. "Gosh, Alexis! You can't always rely on Zane like that, he's not always going to be there for you!" With that he walked away._

"_Is he mad?" Alexis squeaked. Zane shook his head. "Naw, he's just annoyed cause he didn't win this one, that's all."_

Atticus smiled at the memories, they seemed so far away. _This time I'm wrong, Zane I trust Alexis to you, now that I won't be here any more._

"Gisei's effect is that I can declare one monster name and all of those monster on the field are removed from play." The remaining Cyberchain Tokens shattered and Alexis found it easy to breathe again.

Anguish seemed unfazed, yet he seemed like he knew what was coming.

"Gisei can't attack yet because I used that effect, but he has a second one! If I take half of his attack points as damage, I can transfer him to another player's side of the field, and next turn he'll be able to attack under command, no matter whose turn it's supposed to be!"

Alexis ignored her side and got up. "What the hell are you doing Atticus! You'll lose the duel!"

A sad smile crossed his lips. "Yeah maybe, but it's better than both of us going down. Alexis…" The great black dragon turned its neck and opened its mouth to claim its price.

"I'll leave the victory to you…"

"ATTICUS!"

It was too late, his body was already consumed in a roaring inferno, when the flames passed, his body fell backwards limb. His lifepoints were at zero and the Data Key around his neck disintegrated.

Tears formed in her eyes. The Data Guardian reappeared on her side of the field. Alexis whirled to face her opponent, her eyes filled with fury.

"Damn you! I'll kill you!" She raised her arm to declare the attack.

Then Anguish's mask fell away.

Her arm fell limb.

She backed away, her blood turned cold.

"Who the hell are you?" Alexis was looking into the face of Zane Truesdale.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"ARGH!" Zane gasped suddenly. He doubled over onto the musty ground.

"Woah, Zane are you alright!?" Aster knelt besides him, but he didn't respond. He couldn't respond at all. His features were twisted in agony. His hands were clawing into his sides, as if something was destroying him from the inside.

"What's happening, Aster!" Jaden asked in panic.

"I don't know, snap out of it Zane!"

The older teen's restricted movements stopped and his entire body went limb. Aster's eyes widened. "He needs air! We need to get him out of here! Jaden take his arm."

"Hold on, we're almost there," Aster said listening to Zane's ragged breathing. It took almost twice as long to reach there starting point. He let go of his arm and pushed open the trap door.

It wouldn't budge. "Hey Jaden, give me a hand here." The brunette nodded and the two pushed with all there might. Still, the door wouldn't move at all.

"I hope we're not trapped in here."

"One more time…" And again, the door didn't move.

"Someone locked us in with something," Aster concluded calmly. Jaden was different.

"How can you be so cool about it? We're _locked _in a _catacomb _with a guy who just collapsed on us!" His voice was almost hysterical.

As if on cue, Zane stirred.

Aster noticed. "You're awake. What the hell happened to you back there! We thought you were dying."

Zane stared down at his hands. He was shaking slightly. Visions he had just saw in his former state flashed in his mind. Atticus's bloodied up body on the ground and Alexis's tortured face.

"I… I don't know."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"W-what the…" Alexis's world got dizzy. "Who are you… what did you do with Zane…?"

He frowned. "You're disappointing me. I _am _Zane. You're wasting time… make your move."

"Atticus… What do I do…" she whimpered. Her brother was dead, and if she didn't attack, his sacrifice would be a waste. If she did attack though, the person who looked like her lover would die.

"What do I do?" She repeated, clutching at her head. Gisei and Cyber End were facing each other. _What are you doing, little girl? Attack!_

"I… can't!" She cried. Her wound opened up, making her conditions worse. Alexis was standing in a pool of her own blood. Her vision got foggy.

_Foolish brat! Attack while you still have the chance!_

"I… can't…" Her voice trailed off as she fell forward, unconscious from the loss of blood. The Data Guardian roared as it shattered into pieces. The opposing Cyber End Dragon had a wide opening to attack, yet he did not declare it, he let his own monster fade away and both duel disks were deactivated.

"It seems that I didn't win this one," he said softly. Slowly, Zane walked to Alexis. Her cheeks were flushed and wet trails led down her face. He knelt besides her and felt her pulse. She was barely alive and her key and card was still intact.

Zane took out his newly acquired Data Key. "Gisei, you should keep that promise you made with Atticus." As if commanded, a thick black aura poured from the screen and surrounded the large gash on Alexis's side. It sealed up almost instantly and left no mark.

He slipped the key around his neck and carefully picked up the unconscious Alexis.  
"Why… Why didn't you recognize me? I thought… I thought we still had a chance. I'll leave your brother here. Three of your friends are near by. They'll find the body. But you, you're coming with me." He knew that she couldn't hear him.

His surroundings spun out of sight until he found himself in a different place.

"Eh, you're back now? What took you so long, and why the hell are you carrying that girl like that. Hell, she's not even supposed to be here!"

"Leave me alone, Aries," he muttered, Alexis still in his arms.

Aries laughed. "I know what happened! You could've won that duel! But you were soft, and you held back. Master isn't going to be very pleased."

"Shut up about 'Master'!" Zane snarled. He turned away to head for his own quarters. Aries only giggled childishly.

"Ah whatever, Anguish-Zane. But you should know. Love dulls your blade!"

As he walked away, Alexis stirred slightly and tilted her head against his chest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aster, Zane, and Jaden all gasped as they felt something like an electric shock pass through their bodies.  
"G-guys, did you feel that?" Jaden automatically wrapped his hand around his Data Key. Aster and Zane nodded. "Someone on our side just lost a duel."

Aster thought for a moment before suggesting, "We need to get out of here fast, this way was blocked somehow. I remember clearly that the archeological team discovered exactly three passages to the surface. They were in the forth when the way collapsed, and that is far from here. We have our means for communications. We should be alright. Though everyone, be careful. Someone knows we're here."

The other two agreed, they traveled down the single path until they found a four-way fork. Aster pointed out the ones that have already been explored, and they parted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where did those guys go?!" Chazz asked rashly at the air. He suddenly choked slightly as a wave of energy shot through his body; it left him almost gasping for air.

"This feeling… Alexis, Atticus! Once of them lost! I can't believe it!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Chazz, Atticus, or Alexis… What happened to them? I knew we shouldn't have parted, damn it all!" Zane stopped himself from punching the wall in frustration.

"Why did I collapse? I only remembered what I saw…"

Zane flinched as his Data Key suddenly grew hot. His eyes widened as his Guardian's voice echoed through his mind.

Zane, it's me. I can't tell you my name just yet. You won't hear it, now's not the time, but there's something you need to know.

_Yeah?_

_Do you know how much your Origin Soul is split up?_

_Origin Soul…?_

_It's the center of your very existence. Whatever exists, whether alive or not has its own origin. Right now, all the pieces of Origin Souls are in great danger._

_Explain more._

_Certainly. What I'm saying is that there are several, no millions of realities out there. Each dimension or reality has one piece of everyone's Origin Soul. When that piece dies, or is converted into something else, like a corpse turning into dust or metal rusting away, that piece of existence falls into a different category, or even forms its own. Are you following me?_

_Barely._

_Well listen up. Over infinite stretches of time, realities were at war, fighting one another for dominance. All the realities are split into two sides. One side is Negative Existence, and the other is Positive Existence._

_Okay… _

_There are six gates for each reality. The six are randomly scattered and hidden throughout the world. For some realities, they're easy to find, for others, they're almost impossible. I have good news though; you and your friends are heading towards one of the gates. Only holders of the so-called "Data Guardians" can pass through or even destroy the gate._

_Why are they so important?_

_There gates warp you to a different reality. They're six routes that have multiple destinations. You're going up against the Negative side of existence. I'm not sure what their intentions are but they want to use us, the six spirits to merge all existing realities into one._

_What the Hell? Are they insane?_

_Probably. They believe that if all the realities were merged together, there would be no Negative Existence. Everything would be straightforward, perfect, happy, and there would only be one decision available._

_That sounds impossible._

_And that's why if they succeed, they'll make all existence disappear. _

_Just by collecting all six data keys?_

_I don't know everything. We only got so far into history. Just make sure that they don't succeed._

_Is there anything else I should know?_

_Yeah, but you have to figure that out for yourself._

That seemed to be its last words for now because it didn't respond to Zane's questions.

He didn't notice how far he was walking while having a conversation with his Data Guardian until the narrow passage way lead into a vast circular room. Strangely enough, the room was already lit with burning torches illuminating the red-metal walls. There was a lot of blood on one side of the room, and a heap.

"Atticus!" Zane dropped his flashlight in shock and ran to his fallen friend.

"Oh no…" Atticus's body was cold, lifeless, and Zane had a big hunch on what had happened. He tugged the brunette's collar out of the way. His key wasn't there. One of the worst things was confirmed. With shaking fingers, Zane pressed the radio button that was strapped around his neck.

"Hey… you guys there…?"

Aster and Jaden replied, "Yes, did something happen?"

"Atticus… I found him. He was the one who lost the duel."

-X-

I hope I didn't squish too much of the plot into this single chapter, but I was kind of dying to let it out after 9 chapters. I still have 1/3 of the plot to introduce. Idiotic, huh?

SOO… When was the last time I updated this one… 3 months ago? Geezes. O-O So sorry. I'm procrastinating a lot on these.

Hopefully, some of your questions are answered.


	11. The Glass has Broken

**Chapter 11  
The Glass has Broken**

Alexis woke up with a sudden start, tumbling off whatever she was sleeping on.

"Ugh, damn it," she said, rubbing the elbow that banged against the floor. That's when she noticed that she was NOT home, but somewhere strange. The ground she was on was hard, gray, and stone cold. There wasn't much furniture in the room she was in. A small window was to her side, letting in some moonlight. A wooden table was right under it, bearing a couple yellowing parchments and a knife.

Alexis than began to wonder. Where was she? What happened? Where was Atticus?

Then her blood went cold. She quickly began to remember the recent events.

"_Maybe it was a dream," _Alexis told herself. She shivered and feverishly rubbed her arms. It was chilly in here all right, and it was definitely nighttime. Alexis sat herself onto the single bed. She noticed how soft it was.

The blonde began to think. With every thought pointing to the truth that her brother was dead made her heart ache and ache; more than it already did.

"It's all my fault," she said quietly, her eyes watering quickly. "Why was I so stupid? All that he did for me! All I needed to do was declare my attack! But I didn't! Why? What was stopping me?" Then Alexis remembered Zane's face, staring solemnly at her.

"_I am Zane Truesdale."_

It was all too much for the poor girl. Holding back tears or guilt and regret, she got up placed her hand on the knob of the door. "I feel anguish…" She clenched her eyes, hot tears dripping out. That was it, Anguish was his name, and he was the one who was causing her all these problems. It was _his_ fault, not hers!

_That's it! I tried my best! But it was that man who killed Atti'. Not me, it's not my fault at all._

Alexis felt the doorknob turn and she jumped back to face whoever it was. It opened casually.

"Oh, you're awake."

She blinked, slightly confused. Wasn't this person her enemy? Wasn't she supposed to hate him right now? The voice was _kinder_ than she had expected. Now that she was looking at him, full in the face, she couldn't help but notice how different his eyes were from the Zane she knew. They weren't cold at all, soft and brighter, yet filled with a dreadful weight. She could see how much he had been through in his entire life. She could see every emotion he had ever been forced to experience and endure.

Was he really against her? Just looking at him made it harder for Alexis to stand against him, especially when he shares the same face as her precious person.

"Who are you?"

Zane sighed. "I'm sorry for delaying answers. Please rest and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Alexis obediently sat back down, the mattress sinking slightly under the weight. Zane however, remained standing, almost towering over her.

Alexis gulped before asking again, "Who are you? Are you really… Zane?"

He nodded. "My name is Zane Truesdale. I had a brother named Syrus Truesdale, I used to know the siblings Atticus and Alexis Rhodes. Jaden was my rival."

_Had, used to, was?_

"What do you mean?"

He turned his head slightly, closing his eyes and smiling sadly. "You don't know…" When he opened his eyes, they were glazed. "Everyone I ever cared about died a long time ago."

Alexis looked down; her fingers were digging into the sheets. "Then why…" she growled, suddenly getting angry. "Why did you kill him? If everyone you knew died like you said, then you should know how it feels!" She looked up furiously, glaring deep into her face.

He seemed unfazed. "You're talking like he'll never come back."

Once again, Alexis was confused. "Wait… what are you talking about?"

He smiled amused. "Your lack in faith in your brother disappoints me. He's not going to leave forever. Check you side."

Alexis looked bewildered for a moment then quickly felt the skin on her side. She felt no scar; it didn't ail her at all. Any signs of the corruption duel disappeared. Something healed it. She looked back at him, deeply dumbfounded. Chazz, Aster, and Jaden had all returned with some type of physical injury after the duel, but what about her?

"How can this be?"

Zane, as in response, pulled out Atticus's data key. The silver screen swayed back and forth. Instinctively, Alexis made a grab for it. Zane didn't even flinch or move to stop her. Alexis quickly learned why. The moment she wrapped her hand around it, she immediately let go, with a gasp of pain.

It felt like the key was red-hot.

"It doesn't belong to you. Gisei doesn't recognize you as its keeper. The same thing would've happened to me if I tried to forcefully grab that key from your neck. I'll tell you the truth: your brother's soul saved you from dying."

Alexis felt that same guilt bubbling in her stomach. "Yeah, he saved me again. He's still dead. I couldn't even finish the duel myself."

Zane chuckled. "You're missing the point. Atticus's goal was to protect you. That was his goal ever since you six were given the data keys. He didn't care about his own well being, nor whether he lost his key or not. Only you. Don't blame yourself, it was his choice."

"You say all this as if you know us… If everyone you loved died, then why am I still here?" Alexis valued the answer to this question more than the others but before Zane could respond, they heard a sharp rapping on the door.

"Oi, Anguish-Zane! Master would like to see you! I think he thinks you're on to something, and stop screwing with that girl! I mean it literally."

Zane sighed and turned to leave. "I'll lock the door to protect you from the outside, try not to cause any trouble if that's possible at all." Alexis nodded and he left.

- - -

"So you're going to just throw me aside!?" The powerful, showed figure said furiously at no one seemingly.

_Ahh…. Don't think of it like that. This body served me well, but not anymore now. I've already found myself a lighter, purer soul to manipulate. Your power doesn't seem to satisfy me anymore…_

"What?! We had a deal!" He shouted, outraged yet scared at the same time. He threw his arms into the air furiously.

_Don't question me fool, or I'll just make it more painful for you. Now cooperate. Ah, never mind. I'll just do everything myself. Useless you are, even in your last moments._

Immediately, his arms fell and he turned to face the closed door way. Now that he was silent, he could hear a pair of voices on the other side.  
"Eh, you better be careful Anguish-Zane. He sounds pretty angry. Might wanna brace yourself!"

"Whatever, Aries. Have any idea what the issue is about?"

"Er, not really. Maybe he found out about the girl. You better go in quick. You should know how impatient he is, honestly."

The door creaked open, pouring out a stream of yellow light before closing again. It was hard fro Zane to see. He could barely see the figure of the one who had called him here. He still knelt down. "You called?"

"Boy, I see a lot of potential in you."

The comment didn't matter to Zane but he still said emotionlessly, "Thank you, Master." He grimaced at his last word.

Suddenly, a groping shadow shot from in front of him and swiftly clasped itself around his throat, slamming him against a wall. The black, distorted hand held a tight grasp. Zane gasped for air and struggled to get free. He could not see where the thing had come from. He couldn't see anything. His eyes were clenched in pain and desperation as claws dug into his neck. It felt as if something was protruding from the palm, piercing his throat, he couldn't scream. An inhuman cackling rang in his ears.

Finally, the hand disintegrated into a cloud and disappeared completely. Zane fell to the ground on all fours, sputtering and gasping to take in as much air as possible. He gingerly felt his neck, a ghost of the pain still lingered in his skin. He slowly looked forward, but there was nothing there. The air seemed mustier than usual.

- - -

"Ah! What does this all mean?" Alexis was tugging at her blonde locks. She was not comfortable at all. When "Anguish" got back, she was going to ask him even more questions. He seemed strangely patient and kind. It was hard to think this was the same person who used to give off that frightful, dark aura.

"It doesn't make sense!" She cried needlessly. "And where's the Zane I know? How's he doing, what's happening to him? And Syrus too! Oh god, I didn't even find Syrus. What does Zane think of me now? And Chazz too, he's still at the airport I hope. Man, I wish he knew what had happened." Alexis buried her face into the sheets currently very stressed out. When she heard the knob turn, she sat back up, prepared to continue her questions.

Zane strode past her ignoring her when she started, "Why-"

She stopped when she realized he wasn't paying any attention to her. Alexis began to realize how colder the air became. _Was it always like this?_

Zane stood in front of the lone table, whatever he was doing was hidden from Alexis's view. "Hey, are you alright?" she said.

Alexis's eyes widened in surprise and fear. He turned around, the silver knife from earlier held tightly in his hand. His eyes were hazed and he was grinning slightly. "What are you going to do with that?"

He didn't reply but stepped closer to the frozen Alexis. _Shit! He's going to kill me!_  
He raised his armed hand. _Move Alexis! Get out of here!  
_Alexis looked up helplessly as the blade was brought down.

- - -

"Atticus, wake up! Please!" Zane was actually pleading, shaking the cold body of his friend. Jaden was kneeling with him with a trembling face. Aster stood by the two of them.

"How could this happen?" Jaden asked softly. He turned his head to look at the one other area full of bloodstains. It was just a couple yards away from Atticus. "And I wonder what happened to Alexis," he added.

Zane stood up, his eyes shadowed.  
"What're you going to do, Zane?" Aster asked, his tone a little light. He felt that long-lost air of power radiating from him.

"I'm going to their world. I'm going to avenge Atticus, save Syrus and Alexis. I'll end this all. Whoever did this chose the wrong reality to fuck with."

"Hey Zane… Calm down," Jaden said. He too felt that none-too-good aura.

"Calm down!" he roared, facing Jaden. His hands were trembling and his eyes were filled with fury. "Sure I'll calm down! They took my brother! They took Alexis! They KILLED my best friend. How can YOU be so calm about this? From the beginning, I knew this was all wrong! If we hadn't split up, if we just behaved and kept to ourselves, sticking together, this WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!" His voice cracked and he collapsed to the ground.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, hands digging into the thin layer of dust, red stains under his palms. Jaden and Aster stared at him, not saying a word.

Zane's tone changed completely. "I'm sorry," he said softly. He stood up. The other too still remained quiet. "Everyone, take out your key. This is what my Data Guardian was talking about. We're standing on top of the first gate. If you're with me, take out your key and well activate this portal."

- - -

Alexis only stared, too surprised to say anything. Zane was kneeling down. He still held onto the knife, which was now sticking, out of his forearm. Blood dribbled from the wound and onto the floor.

Alexis finally got to her senses and reached out to help him. "Oh my god, why'd you do that for! You're bleeding like mad!" She looked around frantically for a first aid or something. But first, she tenderly held his arm. He flinched.

"This is going to hurt like hell," she warned. Zane closed his eyes. "Yeah. Go ahead," he let go of the knife's handle. Alexis fixed her hand around it firmly and yanked out the knife. He only clenched his teeth to prevent a cry of pain from escaping. Alexis grabbed one of the sheets and wrapped it extremely tightly around the wound for a tourniquet. This would stall the bleeding until she could find something more proper.

Alexis pulled open one of the drawers, quills, pens, and conveniently a roll of white bandage. With a fast pace, Alexis wiped the excess blood and swiftly wrapped the bandages around it. Zane only watched with slightly wide eyes at the girl who was tending to his deep incision. With her teeth, Alexis tore the end and finished her make-shift treatment.

"Thanks," he said, examining his arm. Alexis sat back and let out a huff of relief.  
"No problem, but why, why would you stab yourself?" Alexis didn't know the answer to her question but she knew what was going on. He was going to stab her to death with that knife, but at the last minute he brought the blade upon himself to avoid hurting her. Alexis bit her lip as she thought about all the possible answers.

"I don't know." He raised a hand to his neck but when he noticed Alexis was still looking at him, he quickly lowered his limb. However, Alexis already noticed. "Huh? What happened to your neck? You have like… five puncture wounds."  
Zane drew back when Alexis brought her head closer to his, examining his recently-obtained wounds. "They look more like burn marks than puncture wounds. How'd this happen?"

"Well you seem to know your stuff," he said, smiling a little.

"Eh, I took classes. You know, it's useful in situations like these. Wait, don't try and change the subject. How'd you get those? I didn't notice them before."

Zane's gaze darted to the side nervously. "It's nothing." It was a stupid lie and both of them knew it.

"...really?"

The next thing that happened was his eyes shot up met hers, yet they weren't so soft anymore. They seemed to flash as he growled darkly, "I said it was **nothing**."

Alexis blinked. "O-okay sorry-" before she could finish, he got up made his way out the door. "I need fresh air." Then without waiting for a response from her, he shut the door and Alexis heard the lock click.

-X-

So now Alexis is getting more attatched with the enemy, while Zane(1) is feeling very pissed off deep inside. Atticus is still dead, Syrus and Chazz didn't have any cameo. gomen.

Review 8D btw, the title of this chapter is a reference to chapter 5 x3


	12. Crossroads

**Chapter 12  
Crossroads**

He stroked her honey-colored locks lovingly. But deep inside, he knew the one lying against his lap was not his. He pushed his conscious away. This Alexis was his, he'll fight for her if he has too, but then again, he knew he would eventually. His other self will come to this world with the help of the Guardians. He'll be dragging his friends with him and in this reality, he would have the advantage. He'll win the keys from the remaining Data holders and unite the realities at long last.  
But through his thoughts, there was a faint voice asking him. Was this all right? Was the violence, death and ruin all worth it? Zane grimaced at his conflicted thinking.

_All the damage inflicted… it'll all be repaid a hundred fold for everyone…_

He shook his head, careful not to wake the dozing Alexis up. He started to shift his hand towards her's in uneven movements. Just a centimeter away, he hesitated, then withdrew it. He sighed and rubbed his face with the same hand.  
_Can't be mine… Not unless he dies first. _

_She'll be devastated._

_We're the same person._

_Memories shape out who you are._

Zane bent over in the opposite direction in self-defeat. This wasn't right. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He got up. Moments ago, he longed to hold her hand, now he just couldn't stand her presence. He stood up slowly, he still didn't want to wake her, then walked over to the door and opened it slightly. The door closed again with a soft _click_ and he was gone.

- - - - - - - - -

"You're being awfully gentle, now aren't you?" Aries jeered, his ink black hair concealing his eyes. He was leaning against the wall in the corridor leading from Alexis's prison. Zane walked past him, not paying any attention to his remark. Aries straightened up and followed him with quick steps.  
"Why're you being so nice to her? Just be straight forward, duel, kill her and take her key. Yeah, another person dies. Big deal."  
Zane stopped in his tracks. Aries stopped as well. "Excuse me?" He said quietly. His pitch didn't hide the fact that there was venom behind his words.  
Aries glared at the back of his teal head since the other didn't turn to face him. He almost spat at him. "You heard me. You're slowing down the process. If you want to fufill your goal, she's going to have to die. Stop being so soft and take her out already!"  
"Process…" Zane echoed dangerously. Aries expected a violent blow to the head but stood his ground. The man in front of him disgusted him. He was letting emotion get in the way,

However, whatever reaction he had expected from the other did not come. Instead, he grunted and continued his way indifferently. "Aries-" He jumped at the sudden mention of his name. "-This is an _order. _I want you to find the others and take them all out except for… my counterpart or however you want to refer him as. Got it? They're in this world, I can feel it. And you better not screw up."

Aries rolled his eyes at his authority. "Yeah, sure whatever. But my hard work better not be in vain, or else…" he threatened despite the darker aura he had started to feel. He turned and vanished on the spot, leaving a trail of black smoke that quickly faded off.

- - - - - - - - -

When he regained consciousness, the first thought that ran through his mind was, "Why the hell does this always have to happen when we enter a different world?"  
Aster rubbed his pained head in annoyance. He looked around to find Jaden was sprawled on the ground, and he seemed to be simply snoozing instead of being knocked out. Aster placed his hand on his shoulder and vigorously shook him awake.  
"Yo, wake up… Not the time to be sleeping, Jaden!" With a start, he awoke.

"A-wah?" He muttered dully. He rubbed his eyes clear and looked around instinctively. They were surrounded with nothing but sand and dunes. They remembered they were in a high ceiling room when Zane said something about a gate. Then they pulled out their keys and...  
"Er… Where's Zane?" Jaden asked slowly, nervous that Aster will flame him for his slacking.

Aster narrowed his sapphire eyes as he scanned the horizon. "Not with us. Probably walked off without us, that idiot."

Jaden shook his head and pointed. "No footsteps. Maybe he was transported to some other place."

The other shrugged. "Oh whatever. We better start doing something, like look for the guy who's behind this. We might find Zane along the way."

Jaden agreed. "Yeah, think he'll be okay?"

"If he doesn't kill himself. Yeah sure, it's _Zane_ we're talking about. Why not?" That didn't really help the dual brunette's worries.

He looked down. "Uhm, Aster, since when did we bring along duel disks?" He gestured at his and Aster's arm. Indeed, the devices had somehow found their way to them. Their decks were neatly placed in the slot.  
"You don't think-" He didn't finish. Instead, he drew a card. "Uh… I summon Elemental Hero Avian."

Jaden saw it coming. The familiar flash of yellow light came and his green E-hero appeared, brandishing his talons. "Oh wow," He admired at his own monster.

"There's probably a catch… Be careful." Aster advised. He decided against to test his new disk out. When Avian saw that there was no threat and that Jaden had no commands for him, he vanished in a duller flash of light. Jaden gingerly returned the card to his deck.

"The monsters are real here, then?" Jaden asked. Aster nodded slowly. "Yeah, more reason for us to be on our guard. This place is loaded with… you know." He didn't want to say the generic word.

There was a moment of silence before Jaden said out of the blue, "I hope Chazz isn't mad since we left him behind."

"I doubt it."

- - - - - - - -

"THOSE FREAKING IDIOTS!" Chazz screamed in frustration as his jeep hit a dip in the ground. He did not appreciate his organs being misplaced as he dunk in and out of the rough terrain. His instincts were telling him that the others had gone out without him. "'Stay here' my ass! Damn, damn, damn." When things couldn't get even more irritating, his three duel spirits appeared, hovering steadily beside his head despite the speed he was going at. Wonder how he hasn't flipped over the last time he hit a dip.

"What do you dorks want?" Chazz demanded through gritted teeth. They always had to appear when he least needed them. He fumed.  
"It's bad for your karma to use bad language." Ojama said in a sing-song tone since his voice was far from musical. Green and Black echoed. "_Bad you're your karma, bad for your karma!"_ Chazz refrained from smashing the spirits with his bare hands. He didn't want to lose control of the wheel.  
"Okay guys, whatever. Now unless you want me to flip over, explode and die, I advise you all to shut up." To his surprise, they actually obeyed.

Well… Not for long.

"Why are you mad?" Ojama Yello asked, leaning over towards Chazz.

"_Personal space please!_" Chazz bellowed as he single handedly pushed the duel spirit away while keeping his eyes on the non-existent road. "I'm mad because... I don't know!" He was impatient. He had been driving for over ten minutes now. He strained his eyes to see through the scorching heat. Yet… In the distance he can made out a black dot. He made a violent turn (ignoring the cries of protest from the Ojamas) and headed in that general direction. As he neared, he noticed the dot was a jeep just like his, and there were three sets of footprints leading to a trap door.

Chazz slowed down to a safer speed then stopped, a small distance away from the other vehicle. He stumbled over the shifting sands but he finally made it to the old wooden trap door. "They're probably down here. There destination was underground after all," Chazz said to himself. He really didn't feel like paying any attention to the spirits.

Chazz knelt down to observe the padlock. To his surprise, it was locked. The outside of it was dusty with sand. He noticed that the shackle was slightly damaged where it was fastened at the handle of the doors. He looked at the cracks in the shackle carefully and noticed that they were fresh since it revealed a clean, dustless inside.

"Someone locked them in and they tried to break out…" Chazz concluded. He wasn't the type, but he couldn't help but worry about the five. "Well… Atticus was defeated. Man, Alexis, can't imagine how you must be feeling right now."

The Ojamas solemnly made no comment. Chazz stood up and lifted his foot over the lock. "Hopefully, they damaged the shackle enough for me to break it, here it comes." He brought down his foot with full force, successfully smashing apart the shackle with his heel. He kicked aside he pieces and grinned despite the situation.  
He bent back down and swung open the doors to look inside. The harsh sunlight lit a reasonable amount, but the rest was still dark. "Tch, should of known..." He made his way back to the vehicle and pushed around junk, looking for something. "Could of sworn I packed one... Ah, here it is." With breath of relief, he took a black flashlight and stepped quickly to the underground entrance.

Chazz carefully put forward a foot and decided that the steps were stable enough. Halfway down, He looked towards the Ojamas who have been silent that whole time. "Well you guys coming?" They looked nervously at each other. Obviously, they weren't to keen on following Chazz through a dark, underground passageway. "Uh... We'll be right behind you, Chazz!" Ojama Yellow said.

"Whatever..." He muttered. Personally, he could do without their company. The stair came to an end and Chazz faced flat ground. He noticed a trail of footsteps leading onward. He assumed they were Jaden, Aster, and Zane's. He also noticed how the ground was slanting deeper and deeper and he hit flat floor again. The deeper he went through the tunnel, the thicker the air got.

Chazz grimaced as he came across the hole in the wall that Jaden made. An ancient-looking skeleton's mangled remains laid on the floor silently. Curiosity made him shine the flashlight though the hole. He cringed at the sight of even more dead remains. "Oh how I hate catacombs..." He didn't hesitate on moving forward. Chazz realized that he was alone. He didn't expect any of them to stay anyways.

He reached a fork and saw how the three sets of footprints split. "Im hoping they'll reach the same place eventually." He took the left way. Getting bored of the continuous walking, Chazz focused the light on the walls rather than ahead of him. He assumed that the runes carved into the walls was the same type from Aster's research. "It keeps on repeating..." He said, a little dissappointed. He was hoping for something exciting, something that'll make the whole situation make sense, even though he couldn't read any of it.

However, something _did_ happen. Chazz quickened his pace as he saw a dim, flickering light up ahead. Trying his best to hide the sound of his footsteps, he backed himself against the dusty wall. He couldn't hear nor see any sign of activity. Judging it was safe, he walked into the torchlight.

Chazz gasped at the body of Atticus. He had been propped against the wall, his eyes closed. If it weren't for his paleness or bloodstained clothes and face, he might've looked like he was sleeping. Trembling slightly, he walked towards his friend and knelt down. "He's gone." He would've said more to himself, but the screen around his neck started to vibrate violently. He quickly grasped the key as it continued to shake. The guardian's voice echoed in his head.  
_Your friends... They were here. Quickly, I'll open the gate for you, you'll be able to find them from here._

Chazz blinked, contemplating the situation for a split second but he shook his head. "Uh alright..." He gave one last glance at Atticus's body and stood up. He walked towards the center of the room, the key still in his grasp. Immediately, it grew hot and he loosened his grip in panic. _Close your eyes, it's important for you to not open them. No one can know what lies between realities._

He was confused but he obeyed none the less. He clenched his eyes shut. It took all his will not to open his eyes as he felt the ground vanish beneath him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Syrus stumbled over sand. He was quickly losing energy after wandering for what felt like hours now. The sky was dark, but he felt like he was burning up. Losing hope, he sat down on the spot, breathing deeply.

Suddenly, the surrounding area illuminated for a split second and he head a familiar scream up above his head. Syrus looked up for the source, not thinking that he should probably move out of the way. He had the little wind left in him knocked out as a body landed right on top of him.

"Ow... what the...?" Syrus groaned, craning the neck to see who it was. He blinked, was it really...? "Chazz?"

"Shrimp?" Chazz rolled of of Syrus and got up, rubbing the back of his head. "What are you doing here?"

Syrus struggled to get up. "I should be asking you the same thing. Did you just..." He looked up again to see if anyone else would be tumbling down.

Chazz followed his gaze. "Uh," he said. "Fall from the sky? I think so." He felt strangely disorientated and looked down at his left arm, he was surprised to find he was wearing a duel disk. Then he felt for the screen around his neck and let out a sigh of relief to feel that it was still there. "How long have you been here, Syrus?"

Chazz noticed that he was still recovering from the sudden collision. "I don't know... It feels like days. I'm losing track of time in this place... Come to think of it, do you know where we are?"

"I was sort of hoping that you knew. But since you were kidnapped and all... You know, Zane's really worried right now but I'm not sure where he and rest are."

Syrus was a little confused. "Zane... He was with me... I don't know, a day ago? But he just suddenly disappeared."

Chazz looked at him. "Really? You sure about that? He was supposed to have entered this place... thirty minutes ago..." He said the last few words slowly. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Er, what?" Syrus asked nervously. He didn't like the look Chazz was giving him.

"Uh, nothing." He felt a disturbance. Something bad was going to happen. He was feeling that something was just about to attack.

And he was right.

"Oh, look who I've found."  
Chazz wheeled around, looking for the source of the snide voice. "Behind you."

He turned around rapidly in time to see that a black-haired figure had single handedly grabbed Syrus by the hair and flung him yards away. Chazz quickly took several steps back. The figure turned to face him, his emerald eyes glinting in a sinister way. He smirked. "Yo, I'm Aries, and I'm here to take your little trinket." He pointed at Chazz's chest where the key lay still.

"Not without a duel," Chazz growled. He activated his disk. He twitched as the guy called Aries laughed. He didn't like the sound of it but he shook off his discomfort.

Aries did the same. "Of course. Now, I'll take it easy. You go first."

Chazz glared at his opponent and drew his sixth card. "Alright, here I go. I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode and set one card face-down. That'll be it for now."

Aries scanned his hand for a moment. "I summon Spear Dragon. Since I haven't drawn a card yet, I'll think I'll attack. Go, and destroy that Masked Dragon!" Chazz braced himself as his monster was pierced and destroyed. He let out a cry of pain as the resulting wind cut into his skin. He had forgotten that these duels would still inflict physical pain.

Quickly recovering, Chazz flipped over his trap. "I activate Gravehole of Revival. Normally this would let both of us bring back a monster from out graveyards, but since you have none, it'll be just me. I bring back masked dragon!" A flash of light, and his monster returned to the field in defense position. "Also, that isn't it, since you destroyed Masked Dragon earlier, I get to activate his special ability to summon a dragon from my deck." He slipped out his deck and searched through it, selected a card before shuffling the deck and returning t back to the slot. He inserted the card in one of this monster slots. "I summon Armed Dragon Level 3!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Syrus observing the duel intently.

However, Aries seemed unmoved by Chazz's comeback. "Whatever, I lay two face-downs and end my turn."

Chazz drew a card, this guy seemed straightforward. _I shouldn't have a problem with beating him... _"I play the magic card, Dragon's gunfire. Thanks to this one, I'll be able to get rid of your Spear Dragon!" His Armed dragon opened its jaws to spit out a ball of fire. The Spear Dragon shattered as it got hit and Aries shielded himself from the excessive heat.

"I'm not done, my two dragon's are going to have to attack you directly!" Arie's cry of pain was blocked out by the double explosion made by Chazz's monsters. He smirked, this duel wouldn't be a problem it seemed.

Chazz- 3500  
Aries- 1400

"And now my Armed Dragon evolves to Level 5!" The monster was consumed by a beam of light before being replaced by a much stronger version. "I end my turn."

Aries drew a card. "Not bad, not bad. I summon Lord of Dragons from my hand. Next, I activate one of my face-downs, Flute of Summoning Dragon. That'll let my play the two cards in my hand! I summon Curse of Dragon and Kaiser Glider."

"Oh no..." Chazz wasn't expecting this.

Aries smirked at his opponent's expression. "Curse of Dragon, destroy that Masked Dragon!" Chazz cried out in pain as his skin blistered from the heated wind. It wasn't over yet. "Kaiser Glider, attack Armed Dragon!" Chazz clenched his teeth to prevent him from crying out again. His field was completely bare now.

"Kaiser Glider's effect prevents it from being destroyed even though your Armed Dragon matched it in strength. But you're lucky, you haven't lost any life points."

Chazz growled. He was right, but his healing skin was already beginning to raw. He glared at the two opposing monsters. They were high in attack, and it'll be hard to summon a monster strong enough to take them out. He regretted his last thoughts. This was going to be a long duel.

-X-

Oh wow, how long has it been...? x-X I rewrote this chapter four times, literally. It took me forever, and now, Im still not satisfied with it. Oh well, hope you enjoy the update while it lasts.

With love xD

Kaisre


	13. Of the End

What was going to happen if I still had the will to finish of a Beginning and End x-X

If you're wondering why Ive given up on this story, its because I pretty much lost faith in my writing.

- - - - - - - -

Chazz was on the brink of losing during his duel in the last chapter. However, Aries decides to 'spare' him after realizing his deck is vulnerable to Chazz's data guardian.

Leaving Chazz and Syrus stranded, Aries goes back to Alexis's prison and frees her. He guides her to the rest of the group before challenging her. Zane takes the challenge instead saying that Alexis is in no shape to duel. Zane wins the duel and Aries disappears but leaves no medallion behind (like all the rest of their enemies). Zane's gaurdian's name was Wiegenlied and it had the shape of a giant serpentine dragon seraph, not unlike Zane's Cyber End.

Somehow, Aries survives his encounter with Zane and challenges Chazz again, saying he needs a data guardian in order to defeat everyone else and claim their cards. Chazz tells Syrus to look for the rest so he can get help just in case something happens. This time, Chazz tries to use his guardian's effect to his winning advantage but Aries threatens to kill Alexis if his own lifepoints reach zero. The threat was a bluff but Chazz falls for it, allowing Aries to win and claim his data guardian and key.

Aries then appears before the main group, much to their surprise and horror. Syrus had rejoined them. Jaden, angry about Atticus, engages in a duel with him but loses when he's taken by storm from Chazz's data guardian. Aster, unable to stand around and see that Chazz and Jaden have fallen separates from Zane and Alexis. His search leads him to a gaping abyss where he find the other Zane. Confused, his Data guardian explains to him that the other versions of himself exist throughout countless realities. Aster, wanting to end everything and hopefully bring back his friends, challenges this Zane to a duel.

Meanwhile, by this point Alexis is absolutely furious at Aries and demands a final duel with him, but Aries avoids accepting her challenge when he tells her where the other Zane is and how she can bring her friends back. Zane is suspicious and obviously uncomfortable about meeting a counterpart of himself. The both of them don't have much a choice and Aries leads them to the abyss where Aster and (the other) Zane are dueling. Using Gisei (Atticus's former data guardian) to match against Aster's monsters, Zane wins and claims his data guardian. To everyone else's surprise, Zane disposes of Aries for freeing Alexis and acquires Chazz and Jaden's guardians.

That Zane seizes Alexis and threatens to snap her neck if the other Zane doesn't surrender his guardian and key. Not wanting to lose her, he complies much to Alexis's horror. Before he disappears though, he tells Alexis that she can still fight and reverse everything. Syrus however grabs onto Zane to try and pull him back but fails and the both disappear.

Alexis then duels with the remaining Zane for the final time. During the duel, Alexis is beaten down by the five Data Guardians. Since her own guardian hasn't revealed her name yet, Alexis can't use her. While they exchange attacks with Alexis clinging to survival, Zane reveals his dark obsession with her, driven by his longing after everyone he loved died in the previous "war". He also tells her that her card is the heart of all six guardians and that she holds the fate of realities in her hands.

As Alexis's lifepoints lower, the world around her slowly breaks away into white. Alexis begs her Data guardian to trust her so she can bring back her friends and save her world. Touched by her intense and sincere will, the guardian complies and tells her her name, Veritas. She summons Veritas and uses her to take out Zane's remaining Guardian, Wiegenlied. Alexis wins the duel but her surroundings continue to chip away. She runs to Zane and demands why things haven't stopped. He tells her that there was no way to save this world and that her friends are still dead. Alexis is horrified and close to breaking, but Zane apologizes for everything and losing to her has cleared his heart, allowing him to accept his fate. Wanting to make up for everything, he takes the five data guardians (excluding Alexis's) and sacrifices himself along with his own world. Veritas tells Alexis that her guardian has to be destroyed as she is still part of the key to other realities. Zane and the six guardians disappear completely as Alexis blacks out.

Alexis wakes up in a hospital room to find Jaden snoozing in an armchair and Zane at her beside, clutching her IV'd hand. She turns to the door and sees Atticus come in with a bouquet of flowers. Seeing she's awake, Atticus nudges Zane (who had been in a semi-conscious daze) and everyone else rushes in.

The story ends as everyone shares their experience and thanks. Alexis remembers her last duel and is glad that she was finally able to put him to rest. For them, everything was back to normal. The gates between worlds were finally rendered useless, no reality was in the danger of getting consumed ever again.

- - - - - -

The story was originally going to end with Zane being the one to duel his counterpart and sacrifice himself for the others and his counterpart dying himself so Zane's life wasn't completely snuffed out. Alexis and everyone else was going to wake up, Alexis being in Zane's arms and everything. She was supposed to find out that Zane was in a coma setting up the plot for the next sequel. However, seeing as Im probably not going to write for this fandom for a while, I scrapped the idea and came up with the current synopsis.


End file.
